Cellular phone

ABSTRACT

A cellular phone includes a telephone line communication part, a telephone functional part for making a telephone call via the telephone line communication part, an entry qualification holding part for holding fixed-term entry qualification information in which an entry target is specified, which is received via the telephone line communication part, and an entry communication part for transmitting the fixed-term entry qualification information held by the entry qualification holding part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/676,615, filed Mar. 5, 2010, which is a U.S. National PhaseApplication of PCT/JP2008/066579, filed Sep. 12, 2008, which claims thebenefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos.:

JP2007-239664, filed Sep. 14, 2007

JP2007-278530, filed Oct. 26, 2007

JP2007-261821, filed Oct. 5, 2007

JP2007-262673, filed Oct. 5, 2007

the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a communication apparatus such as acellular phone.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, particularly as a key for a vehicle, a keyless entrysystem has become widespread. Further, in the keyless entry system, itis also common that an entry code is exchanged by short-range wirelesscommunication only by carrying an electronic key and approaching avehicle without operating the same, so that the door is opened with theelectronic key in a pocket. Further, there are various proposals aboutassociating the keyless entry function with a cellular phone. Forinstance, Patent Document 1 discloses a keyless entry system in which acellular phone and a vehicle-mounted machine perform short-rangecommunication with each other so as to lock and unlock a door lockmechanism. In addition, Patent Document 2 proposes a car rental systemin which a cellular phone having a keyless entry function receives anentry code transmitted from a management server in long distance, so asto open a lock of a cellular phone vehicle.

Patent Document 1: JP-A-2006-60683

Patent Document 2: JP-A-2003-58795

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

However, there are various problems to be studied about functions of acommunication apparatus such as a cellular phone in its practical use.

In view of the above description, an object of the present invention isto provide a communication apparatus that can handle practical entryinformation.

Means for Solving the Problem

In order to achieve the above-described object, a cellular phoneaccording to the present invention includes a telephone linecommunication part, a telephone functional part for making a telephonecall via the telephone line communication part, an entry qualificationholding part for holding fixed-term entry qualification information inwhich an entry target is specified, which is received via the telephoneline communication part, and an entry communication part fortransmitting the fixed-term entry qualification information held by theentry qualification holding part (as a first structure). Thus, thecellular phone transmits the entry qualification information so that itis decided whether or not the entry in a specific entry target ispermitted, and in the case, since the entry qualification information isfixed-term information, it is adaptable against leakage or forgerythereof though it is received via a telephone line.

Note that the cellular phone having the above-described first structurepreferably has a control part which updates the fixed-term entryqualification information held by the entry qualification holding partwith a new fixed-term entry qualification information (secondstructure). With this structure, the one received last time becomesinvalid by the update.

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described firststructure, the entry qualification information received via thetelephone line communication part is transmitted from a managementfunction of the entry target (third structure). With this structure, thecellular phone is incorporated in an entry target management function.

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described firststructure, the entry target is preferably a transportation facility(fourth structure).

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described fourthstructure, the entry target is preferably a vehicle (fifth structure).

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described firststructure, the entry target is preferably a facility (sixth structure).

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described sixthstructure, the entry target is preferably a house (seventh structure).

In addition, the cellular phone having the above-described firststructure preferably further includes a main power source for supplyingelectricity to the telephone line communication part and the telephonefunctional part, and an auxiliary power source for supplying electricityto the entry qualification information holding part (eighth structure).

In addition, a cellular phone according to the present inventionincludes a main power source, a telephone functional part supplied withelectricity from the main power source, a telephone communication partsupplied with electricity from the main power source, an auxiliary powersource, and an entry process part supplied with electricity from theauxiliary power source (ninth structure). With this structure, the entrycan be performed regardless of a state of the main power source.

Further, in the cellular phone having the above-described ninthstructure, preferably, the main power source is rechargeable, thecellular phone further includes a storage part for storing datanecessary for the telephone functional part by being supplied withelectricity from the main power source and the auxiliary power source,and the entry process part and the auxiliary power source share thestorage part (tenth structure). With this structure, it is possible toeliminate the inconvenience that the main power source is exhausted sothat the entry cannot be performed. In addition, since power consumptionof the entry process part is small, the auxiliary power source providedfor backup of the storage part of the cellular phone can be shared withlittle loss of the backup function.

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described ninthstructure, the entry process part preferably includes an entryqualification holding part for holding the entry qualificationinformation, and an entry communication part for transmitting an entryqualification information held by the entry qualification holding part(eleventh structure). Thus, it is possible to realize the structure thatis suitable for supplying electricity from the auxiliary power source.

In addition, the cellular phone having the above-described ninthstructure preferably further includes a control part which alarms if theauxiliary power source is exhausted when the main power source is turnedon (twelfth structure). With this structure, it is possible to check theentry function by the auxiliary power source at an appropriate timing.

In addition, the cellular phone having the above-described ninthstructure preferably further includes a control part which alarms if theauxiliary power source is exhausted when the main power source ischarged (third structure). With this structure, it is possible to checkthe entry function by the auxiliary power source at an appropriatetiming.

In addition, the cellular phone having the above-described ninthstructure preferably further includes a control part which controls themain power source to supply electricity to the entry process part if theauxiliary power source is exhausted when an entry operation is performed(fourteenth structure). Thus, even if the situation occurs in whichfurther power consumption by of the auxiliary power source by the entryprocess part may cause disabled backup, the entry process can beperformed.

In addition, the cellular phone having the above-described ninthstructure preferably further includes a control part which turns on themain power source if it is turned off in accordance with an entryoperation when the entry operation is performed, and turns off the mainpower source when the entry process is finished (fifteenth structure).This is useful particularly in the case it is necessary to perform theentry process by the main power source because the auxiliary powersource is exhausted when the entry operation is performed. In addition,it is reasonable to structure so that the main power source is turnedoff when the entry process is finished.

In addition, a cellular phone according to the present inventionincludes a telephone line communication part, a telephone functionalpart for making a telephone call via the telephone line communicationpart, an entry qualification holding part for holding entryqualification information received from a management function of anentry target, a control part which updates the entry qualificationinformation held by the entry qualification holding part with a newlyreceived entry qualification information, and an entry communicationpart for transmitting the entry qualification information held by theentry qualification holding part (sixteenth structure). With thisstructure, it is possible to be adaptable against leakage or forgery ofthe entry code by updating.

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described sixteenthstructure, the entry qualification information is preferably received bywireless communication (seventeenth structure). With this structure, thecellular phone in incorporated in the entry management function betweenlong-distant sites.

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described sixteenthstructure, the entry qualification information is preferably received bycontact with the management function of the entry target (eighteenthstructure). This structure is useful in the case where the managementfunction of the entry target is close. As an appropriate examplethereof, there is the case where the management function is a vehicle,and the cellular phone is placed in the vehicle for performing thereception and the like.

In addition, the cellular phone having the above-described eighteenthstructure preferably further includes a rechargeable main power sourcefor supplying electricity to the telephone line communication part andthe telephone functional part, and a charge management part for chargingthe main power source by contact with the management function of theentry target (nineteenth structure). This structure is preferable as amotivation of making the cellular phone have contact with the entrytarget.

In addition, in the cellular phone having the above-described nineteenthstructure, the control part preferably updates the entry qualificationinformation held by the entry qualification holding part every time whenthe contact with the management function of the entry target is enabled(twelfth structure). With this structure, it is possible to updateautomatically the entry qualification information every time uponcharging, so as to be adaptable against leakage or forgery of the entrycode.

Note that the present invention can have various structures other thanthe above-described structures, which will be described in detail below.

Effects of the Invention

The cellular phone according to the present invention can handle theentry information practically.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating Example 1 of a keyless entrysystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a basic flowchart of a function of a cellular control part inExample 1 illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a function when a keyless entryoperation is performed in the cellular control part of Example 1illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart when a main power source of a cellular phone is switched on inExample 1 illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart when a telephone call operation to a substitute drive service agentis performed in Example 1 illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart from enrollment of the substitute drive service agent performed asa precondition of the entry code transmission to the substitute driveservice agent to the entry code transmission illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a basic flowchart illustrating an operation of the vehiclecontrol part illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating Example 2 of the keyless entrysystem according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a detail of a code management processin Step S158 of FIG. 7, which can be applied to each of Example 1 andExample 2.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a detail of a temporary entry codemanagement process in Step S196 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a detail of a safety process in StepS220 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart when a telephone call operation to the substitute drive serviceagent is performed in Example 3 of the keyless entry system according tothe embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart for obtaining a parking code which is handled in Step S280 of FIG.12 according to Example 3.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart for obtaining a vehicle owner temporary position code which isdisplayed in Step S262 of FIG. 12 according to Example 3.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the cellular controlpart for finding the vehicle by utilizing the parking code stored inFIG. 13 according to Example 3.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a function of a first cellularcontrol part 6 about utilizing a vehicle owner position code which ishandled in Step S284 of FIG. 12 according to Example 3.

EXPLANATION OF NUMERALS

-   -   8, 16, 20 information input part    -   12 information holding part    -   18, 20 transmission part    -   30 keyless entry code holding part    -   18, 20 reception part    -   14 display part    -   38, 40, 44, 46 car navigation apparatus    -   6, 12, 14 map display system

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating Example 1 of a keyless entrysystem according to an embodiment of the present invention. Example 1constitutes a system including a plurality of cellular phones. FIG. 1illustrates a first cellular phone 1 and a second cellular phone 2. Inaddition, the structure inside the second cellular phone 2 is basicallythe same as that inside the first cellular phone 1 though it issimplified in FIG. 1. Note that only two cellular phones are illustratedin FIG. 1 for simplification, but third and other cellular phones havingthe same structure may be included. The keyless entry system accordingto the embodiment of the present invention further includes a vehicle 3and a parking lot 4.

The first cellular phone 1 includes a first cellular control part 6constituted of a computer for controlling the entire cellular phone,which controls a first telephone functional part 10 and the likeresponding to an operation of a telephone operating part 8. The functionof the first cellular control part 6 is performed by software stored ina storage part 12. The storage part 12 also stores various datatemporarily which are necessary for control of the entire first cellularphone 1. The first cellular control part 6 further controls a displaypart 14 so as to perform a GUI display in association with an operationof the telephone operating part 8 and to display a result of thecontrol.

A GPS part 16 obtains latitude, longitude and altitude information asabsolute positional information of the first cellular phone 1 based on aGPS system from satellites or nearest broadcasting stations and sendsthe information to the first cellular control part 6. This absolutepositional information is displayed on the display part 14 together witha map by control of the first cellular control part 6 so as to beprovided as navigation information.

The first cellular phone 1 can perform wireless communication includinga normal telephone call via a telephone line by the first telephonefunctional part 10 and a first telephone communication part 18. Besidesthis, the first cellular phone 1 is provided with a first cellularshort-range communication part 20 such as a wireless LAN, which enableswireless communication with other cellular phone or the like existingwithin the short-range communication area.

This first cellular short-range communication part 20 is based onspecifications that do not cause a problem on legal regulations and haslimited communication area with no charge unlike a telephone line.

The first cellular short-range communication part 20 communicates anentry code which will be described later, transmits the absolutepositional information obtained with the GPS part 16 to a GPS part ofother equipment, and can receive absolute positional information whichother equipment obtains with its GPS part. Thus, it is possible todisplay not only its own position but also a position of other equipmenton the same map with the display part 14 so that a relationship betweenthem can be confirmed on the map. Details of this are described inJapanese Patent Application No. 2007-28393 filed by the same applicant,and the like. As described later, according to this function, it ispossible, for example, to find a relationship between the vehicle 3parked in the wide parking lot 4 and a present position of an owner ofthe first cellular phone 1, so that he or she can easily reach thevehicle 3.

In addition, the first cellular phone 1 has a camera part 22, can storetaken images in the storage part 12, and can transmit the image to othercellular phone with the first telephone communication part 18.

The first cellular phone 1 is supplied with electricity from arechargeable main power source 24, and the storage part 12 is furtherbacked up by an auxiliary power source 26 such as a lithium battery.Thus, evaporation of information stored in the storage part 12 can beprevented when the main power source 24 is discharged or exchanged.

The first cellular phone 1 further includes a keyless entrycommunication part 28 and a keyless entry code storage part 30 workingtogether with the same. These are supplied with electricity from theauxiliary power source 26 so as to work basically regardless of acharged state of the main power source 24 and an ON or OFF statethereof. Power consumption of the keyless entry communication part 28 ismuch smaller than the first short-range communication part 20, so theauxiliary power source 26 for the storage part 12 is also used for thesame in this way.

Thanks to this function, the first cellular control part 6 is activatedin a low speed power saving mode so as to perform a minimum function fora keyless entry operation, i.e., for operation of the telephoneoperating part 8 or detecting an entry operation of the vehicle 3received by the keyless entry communication part 28, even if the mainpower source 24 is turned off, or if the main power source 24 is chargedinsufficiently to the state that is not sufficient for a normal cellularphone function.

In addition, the keyless entry code storage part 30 is connected also tothe first cellular control part 6, so that locking and unlocking of thevehicle 3 based on the entry code stored in the keyless entry codestorage part 30 can be performed not only by the keyless entrycommunication part 28 but also by the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20. However, as described later, locking andunlocking of the vehicle 3 is basically performed by the keyless entrycommunication part 28.

Example 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 has the structure in which the keylessentry communication part 28 receives control of the first cellularcontrol part 6 as described above. As a variation example, however, itis possible to constitute the keyless entry communication part 28 tohave no relationship with the first cellular control part 6. In thiscase, it is necessary to provide a special-purpose operating part fordetecting a keyless entry operation. Note that it is possible toconstitute the keyless entry operating part by sharing a part ofoperating keys of the telephone operating part 8 so that the keylessentry communication part 28 can directly detect an operation of theoperating key.

The second cellular phone 2 has the same structure as the first cellularphone 1 as described above, and a description thereof will be omittedfor avoiding overlapping description unless it is necessary. Inaddition, described above, illustration of the structure of the secondcellular phone 2 in FIG. 1 is omitted except for a second cellularcontrol part 32, a second telephone communication part 34 and a secondcellular short-range communication part 36.

In addition, in FIG. 1, it is illustrated as if the first cellular phone1 and the second cellular phone 2 communicate with each other directly,but as known well, the cellular phone utilizes infrastructurecommunication of a communication line. Therefore, the first telephonecommunication part 18 and the second telephone communication part 34communicate with each other actually via base stations.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, the first cellular phone 1 and the secondcellular phone 2 can perform direct ad hoc communication with each otherby using the first cellular short-range communication part 20 and thesecond cellular short-range communication part 36.

The vehicle 3 includes a vehicle control part 38 constituted of acomputer for controlling the entire vehicle, to as to control a vehiclefunctional part 42 and the like in accordance with an operation of avehicle operating part 40. Functions of this vehicle control part 38 areperformed by software stored in a storage part 44. The storage part 44also stores various data temporarily that are necessary for control ofthe vehicle 3.

A GPS part 46 is the same as the GPS part 16 of the first cellular phone1, and it obtains latitude, longitude and altitude information asabsolute positional information of the vehicle 3 based on a GPS systemfrom satellites or nearest broadcasting stations and sends theinformation to the vehicle control part 38. This absolute positionalinformation is displayed on a car navigation screen together with a mapby control of the vehicle control part 38.

The vehicle 3 also has a vehicle short-range communication part 48utilizing a wireless LAN or the like, which enables wirelesscommunication with first cellular short-range communication part 20 orthe like existing within the short-range communication area. As a matterof course, this vehicle short-range communication part 48 is based onthe same standard with the first cellular short-range communication part20 and has limited communication area with no charge unlike a telephoneline.

The vehicle 3 further includes a keyless entry communication part 50 soas to communicate the entry code with the keyless entry communicationpart 28 of the first cellular phone 1. Then, the entry code istransmitted from the keyless entry code storage part 30 via the keylessentry communication part 28 and is received by the keyless entrycommunication part 50. If the entry code is authenticated by a keylessentry code management part 52, its result is sent to the vehicle controlpart 38. Thus, the vehicle control part 38 instructs a door lock part 54to lock or unlock.

Further, when the owner of the first cellular phone 1 performs an enginestart operation with the vehicle operating part 40, an engine lock isunlocked to enable engine start by communication between the keylessentry communication parts 28 and 50. Specifically, since the owner ofthe first cellular phone 1 is on the driver's seat of the vehicle 3 inthis case, the keyless entry communication part 28 and the keyless entrycommunication part 50 can communicate with each other. Then, respondingto the engine start operation, communication is performed between them.When the keyless entry code management part 52 authenticates the entrycode in the keyless entry code storage part 30, its result is sent tothe vehicle control part 38. Responding to this, the vehicle controlpart 38 unlocks an engine lock part 56 so as to enable engine start.

Note that the entry code in the keyless entry code storage part 30 ofthe first cellular phone 1 can be transmitted via the first cellularcontrol part 6 from the first cellular short-range communication part 20to the vehicle short-range communication part 48 of the vehicle 3 asdescribed above. This is effective in the case where the auxiliary powersource 26 is exhausted or the like. In this case, the vehicle controlpart 38 sends the entry code received by the vehicle short-rangecommunication part 48 to the keyless entry code management part 52 sothat the entry code is authenticated. Then, based on the result, thevehicle control part 38 instructs the door lock part 54 to lock orunlock.

In the case of the above description, the entry code in the keylessentry code storage part 30 is transmitted from the first cellularshort-range communication part 20 to the vehicle short-rangecommunication part 48 of the vehicle 3 via the first cellular controlpart 6 also when the engine start operation is performed. Further, whenthe keyless entry code management part 52 authenticates the entry code,its result is sent to the vehicle control part 38. Responding to this,the vehicle control part 38 unlocks the engine lock part 56 so as toenable engine start.

The above description is the case where the owner of the first cellularphone 1 is also the owner of the vehicle 3. Next, the case where theowner of the second cellular phone 2 owns the vehicle 3 while the firstcellular phone 1 is owned by a substitute drive service agent will bedescribed. Note that the second cellular phone 2 is similar to the firstcellular phone 1 and has all the structural elements including thekeyless entry code storage part, the keyless entry communication partsand the like although they are omitted in FIG. 1 as described above.

The above-described situation occurs, for example, when the owner of thevehicle 3 is drunken and requests the substitute drive service agent todrive the vehicle 3 to his or her home. In this case, the owner of thevehicle 3 who is also the owner of the second cellular phone 2 transmitsa temporary entry code of the vehicle 3 from the second telephonecommunication part 34 to the first telephone communication part 18 ofthe substitute drive service agent via the telephone line. Thus, thekeyless entry code storage part 30 of the first cellular phone 1 storesthe received temporary entry code. After that, similarly to theabove-description, the first cellular phone 1 can perform unlock of thedoor lock of the vehicle 3 and unlock of the engine lock. Therefore, thesubstitute drive service agent can drive the vehicle 3 to the party siteor the like where the owner of the vehicle exists, pick up him or her,and drive the vehicle 3 to his or her home. Note that the temporaryentry code is valid only in the day when the substitute drive service isrequested and becomes invalid after that. Details of transmission of thetemporary entry code, or the like will be described later.

The parking lot 4 has a parking lot control part 58 constituted of acomputer for controlling the entire parking lot and performs the controlby software stored in a storage part 60. The storage part 60 also storesvarious data temporarily which are necessary for control of the parkinglot 4.

The parking lot 4 also has a parking lot first short-range communicationpart 62 and a parking lot second short-range communication part 64 whichare installed at different places in the parking lot. Note that theparking lot 4 may have a third or more short-range communication partsif necessary for securing communication area in the parking lot. FIG. 1illustrates two short-range communication parts for simplification.

The plurality of short-range communication parts 62 and 64 in theparking lot 4 secure communication areas in part, and the first cellularshort-range communication part 20 detects which one of the short-rangecommunication parts can communicate, so that the parking lot controlpart 58 decides where the first cellular phone 1 exists in the parkinglot 4. Further, if a radio wave from the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20 is received simultaneously by the parking lotfirst short-range communication part 62 and the second cellularshort-range communication part 64, for example, the parking lot controlpart 58 can locate a position of the first cellular phone 1 morecorrectly based on triangulation point communication. Thus, even if thefirst cellular phone 1 is out of area for satellite radio wave likeinside the building of the parking lot 4 so that the GPS 16 does notwork, the position of the first cellular phone 1 can be detected. Notethat the position of the first cellular phone 1 detected by the parkinglot control part 58 is sent from the nearest parking lot short-rangecommunication part to the first cellular short-range communication part20.

In the same manner for the parking position of the vehicle 3, theparking lot control part 58 detects it by communication between thevehicle short-range communication part 48 and the parking lot secondshort-range communication part 64 or the like if the GPS part 46 of thevehicle 3 does not work, so that the detected position is transmitted tothe first cellular short-range communication part 20.

As described above, the first cellular phone 1 can locate its ownposition by its own GPS part 16 and can obtain the positionalinformation the vehicle 3 detected by the GPS part 46 of the vehicle 3via the first cellular short-range communication part 20. Therefore,even if the substitute drive service agent does not know the position ofthe vehicle 3, he or she can reach the vehicle 3 by displaying apositional relationship between them on the display part 14.

Further, even if the GPS parts 16 and 46 do not work, information of theown position and the position of the vehicle 3 can be received by thefirst cellular short-range communication part 20 from the parking lotcontrol part 58. Therefore, in the same manner, the positionalrelationship between them can be display on the display part 14, so asto reach the vehicle 3 easily.

Note that the transmitted positional information of the vehicle 3 cannotbe received by the first cellular short-range communication part 20unless the own entry code or the temporary entry code that is receivedfrom the owner of the vehicle 3 is stored in the keyless entry codestorage part 30 of the first cellular phone 1. Therefore, the positionof the vehicle 3 is not transmitted to a third party.

FIG. 2 is a basic flowchart of a function of the first cellular controlpart 6 in Example 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, which is started byconnection of the main power source 24 to the first cellular phone 1,start of charging of the main power source 24 is started, or connectionof the auxiliary power source 26. When the process flow starts, it isfirst checked in Step S2 whether or not the auxiliary power source 26 isOK. The level to be decided that the auxiliary power source 26 is not OKshould be a level just before a limit at which exhaustion of theauxiliary power source 26 proceeds so that the backup of the storagepart 12 and the keyless entry code storage part 30 cannot be secured anymore if the power supply to the keyless entry communication part 28 iscontinued. In other words, the level should be a level at which thebackup itself can be performed for the time being as long as the powersupply to the keyless entry communication part 28 is not performed.

If the auxiliary power source 26 is not OK in Step S2, the process flowgoes to Step S4 in which it is checked whether or not charging of themain power source 24 is OK. The level to be decided that charging of themain power source 24 is not OK should be a level at which minimumoperation of the first cellular control part 6 itself can be performed,but the normal cellular phone operation cannot be performed, andtherefore the cellular phone function should be stopped. If the chargingof the main power source 24 is OK in Step S4, the process flow goes toStep S6, in which a warning display urging exchange of the auxiliarypower source 26 is performed. Then, the process flow goes to Step S8while continuing this display.

In Step S8, the function of the keyless entry communication part 28 isstopped so as to disable communication for preventing the auxiliarypower source 26 from being further exhausted. Responding to this, thekeyless entry communication by the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20 is enabled in Step S10. The keyless entrycommunication by the first cellular short-range communication part 20 isusually not performed, but this is performed only in the case where theprocess flow goes from Step S2 to Step S8.

This is because the first cellular short-range communication part 20 issupplied with electricity from the main power source 24. The main powersource 24 is required to be charged frequently for supplying electricityfor normal cellular phone function. If the charging is not performed,the entire cellular phone 1 becomes unable to work, and the firstcellular short-range communication part 20 also becomes unable to work.Therefore, if the first cellular short-range communication part 20 isregularly used for the keyless entry function, the battery of thecellular phone 1 may be exhausted frequently, so that the keyless entryor other operations of the vehicle 3 cannot be performed. This isinconvenient and is also dangerous in a certain case. Therefore, thekeyless entry operation is usually performed by the keyless entrycommunication part 28 that is supplied with electricity from theauxiliary power source 26 and works regardless of the charged state ofthe main power source 24 and an ON or OFF state thereof, and the keylessentry code storage part 30 that works together with the same.

However, the auxiliary power source 26 may also be exhausted by longterm use, and therefore, the process flow from Step S2 to Step S10 isprepared as urgent means in that case. This is based on the preconditionthat when the auxiliary power source 26 is exhausted, there is lowprobability that the main power source 24 is in an insufficientlycharged state at the same time.

When the keyless entry communication by the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20 becomes enabled in Step S10, the process flow goesto Step S12 in which a keyless entry interrupt as the first cellularcontrol part 6 is enabled. This interrupt is related to the case wherethe telephone operating part 8 performs the keyless entry operation. Inaddition, this interrupt occurs also in the case where the vehiclecontrol part 38 detects that an external unlock button outside thevehicle that is a part of the vehicle operating part 40 of the vehicle 3is operated, and the vehicle short-range communication part 48 informsthe first cellular short-range communication part 20 about the fact.Although the interrupt is enabled in Step S12, the interrupt to thefirst cellular control part 6 based on the operation is usuallyinhibited. Therefore, the keyless entry function based on the operationis performed by the keyless entry communication part 28.

Next, an initial process of the cellular phone function is performed inStep S14, and the process flow is finished. Note that if it is decidedin Step S2 that the auxiliary power source 26 is OK, the first cellularphone control part 6 is not required to respond the keyless entryoperation. Therefore, the process flow goes to Step S16 in which anormal keyless entry state by the keyless entry communication part 28 ischecked to go to Step S14. This Step S16 is provided for checking everytime upon connection of the main power source 24 to the first cellularphone 1, start of charging of the main power source 24, or connection ofthe auxiliary power source 26, whether or not the keyless entrycommunication part 28 works normally, and for disabling the keylessentry interrupt to the first cellular control part 6 if it has beenenabled.

In addition, if the main power source 24 is not OK in Step S4, theprocess flow goes to Step S18 in which it is checked whether or not itis being charged. If it is being charged, the cellular phone 1 can work.Therefore, the process flow goes to Step S6 in which the operation inStep S6 and following steps is performed by electric power supplied froma charger. This operation can be performed in the case where thecellular phone 1 is being charged in the vehicle 3, for example.

On the other hand, it is not being charged in Step S18, the function ofthe cellular phone 1 cannot be performed. Therefore, the process flow isfinished promptly. For instance, this case corresponds to the case wherethe exhausted auxiliary power source 26 is incorrectly connected and themain power source 24 is not charged, or the case where the auxiliarypower source 26 is exhausted and an uncharged main power source 24 isconnected. As a matter of course, if the first cellular control part 6is not supplied with electricity, the process flow itself illustrated inFIG. 2 does not start.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a function when the keyless entryoperation is performed in the first cellular control part 6 of Example 1illustrated in FIG. 1. The process flow starts when a keyless entryoperation is performed by the telephone operating part 8, or when thevehicle control part 38 detects that an external unlock button outsidethe vehicle that is a part of the vehicle operating part 40 of thevehicle 3 is operated so that the keyless entry communication part 50 ofthe vehicle 3 informs the keyless entry communication part 28 of thefirst cellular phone 1 about the fact, or when the vehicle control part38 detects that the external unlock button outside the vehicle that is apart of the vehicle operating part 40 of the vehicle 3 is operated sothat the vehicle short-range communication part 48 informs the firstcellular short-range communication part 20 about the fact.

Note that when the vehicle control part 38 detects the engine startoperation by the vehicle operating part 40, the process flow illustratedin FIG. 3 starts similarly to the case where the operation of the unlockbutton is detected.

When the process flow starts, it is checked in Step S22 whether or notthe auxiliary power source 26 is OK. If the auxiliary power source 26 isnot OK, the process flow goes to Step S24 in which it is checked whetheror not the charging of the main power source 24 is OK. If the chargingof the main power source 24 is OK in Step S24, the process flow goes toStep S26 in which the warning display urging exchange of the auxiliarypower source 26 is performed. Then, the process flow goes to Step S28while continuing this display.

In Step S28, the function of the keyless entry communication part 28 isstopped so as to disable communication, and the process flow goes toStep S30. In Step S30, if the main power source 24 is not turned on, itis turned on in Step S32, and the process flow goes to Step S32. This isbecause if the main power source 24 is turned off, the first cellularshort-range communication part 20 is not supplied with electricity sothat the keyless entry process cannot be performed. On the other hand,if the main power source 24 is already turned on in Step S30, theprocess flow goes directly to Step S34.

In Step S34, the keyless entry process such as locking or unlocking ofthe door lock part 54, unlocking the engine lock part 56, and the likeis performed based on communication by the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20.

Next, it is checked in Step S36 whether or not there is a historyindicating that the main power source 24 has automatically been turnedon in Step S32. If there is the history, the process flow goes to StepS38 in which the main power source 24 is automatically turned off, andthe process flow is finished. This is for resetting the main powersource 24 of the first cellular phone 1 that was automatically turned onfor performing the keyless entry process, after finishing the process.On the other hand, if there is not the history indicating that the mainpower source has automatically been turned on in Step S36, it means thatthe main power source 24 of the first cellular phone 1 has been turnedon from before detecting the keyless entry operation. Therefore, themain power source 24 is not turned off, and the process flow isfinished.

Note that if it is decided that the auxiliary power source 26 is OK inStep S22, the first cellular phone control part 6 is not required torespond to the keyless entry operation. Therefore, the process flow goesto Step S40 in which a normal keyless entry state by the keyless entrycommunication part 28 is checked, and the process flow is finished. ThisStep S40 is provided for checking every time when the keyless entryoperation can be performed whether or not the keyless entrycommunication part 28 works normally, and for disabling the keylessentry interrupt to the first cellular control part 6 if it is enabled.

In addition, if the charging of the main power source 24 is not OK inStep S24, the keyless entry cannot performed either by the auxiliarypower source 26 or the main power source 24. Therefore, the process flowis finished promptly.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the first cellularcontrol part 6 when the main power source 24 of the first cellular phone1 is turned on in Example 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. When the process flowstarts, it is checked in Step S52 whether or not the charging of themain power source 24 is OK. If the charging is OK, the process flow goesto Step S54 in which it is checked whether or not the auxiliary powersource 26 is OK. If the auxiliary power source 26 is not OK, the processflow goes to Step S56 in which the warning display urging exchange ofthe auxiliary power source 26 is performed. Then, the process flow goesto Step S58 while continuing this display.

In Step S58, the function of the keyless entry communication part 28 isstopped so as to disable communication for preventing the auxiliarypower source 26 from being exhausted further. Responding to this, thekeyless entry communication by the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20 is enabled in Step S60, and the process flow goesto a normal cellular phone function process in Step S62. Then, if thenormal cellular phone function process is stopped, the process flow isfinished.

Note that if it is decided in Step S54 that the auxiliary power source26 is OK, the first cellular phone control part 6 is not required torespond to the keyless entry operation. Therefore, the process flow goesto Step S62 directly. In addition, if it is not detected in Step S52that the charging of the main power source 24 is OK, the process flow isfinished promptly.

As described above, every time when the main power source 24 of thefirst cellular phone 1 is turned on, it is checked whether or not theauxiliary power source 26 is OK, so that the situation in which thekeyless entry cannot be performed by the auxiliary power source 26 canbe proved in advance. In addition, if the auxiliary power source 26 isnot OK, the function of the keyless entry is automatically switched fromthe keyless entry communication part 28 to the first cellularshort-range communication part 20, so as to prevent the situation wherethe auxiliary power source 26 is further exhausted so that the storagepart 12 cannot be backed up.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the first cellularcontrol part 6 when the telephone call operation to the substitute driveservice agent that is enrolled in advance is performed by the telephoneoperating part 8 in Example 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. When the processflow starts, a call operation to a telephone number of the enrolledsubstitute drive service agent is performed in Step S72, and it ischecked in Step S74 whether or not the line is connected.

If the line connection is confirmed, the process flow goes to Step S76in which it is checked whether or not the operation for transmitting theentry code was performed by the telephone operating part 8. If it ischecked that the operation was performed, the process flow goes to StepS78 in which a signal requesting authentication is superimposed on asound signal of the telephone and is transmitted, and then the processflow goes to Step S80. In Step S80, it is checked whether or not apredetermined time has passed from the transmission of the signalrequesting authentication. If the predetermined time has not passed yet,the process flow goes to Step S82 in which it is checked whether or notthe authentication signal that is superimposed on a sound signal and isreturned responding to the request has been extracted.

After the authentication return signal is extracted from the soundsignal in Step S82, the process flow goes to Step S84 in which theextracted signal is compared with a reference data so as to checkwhether or not the authentication result is OK. Then, if theauthentication result is OK, the process flow goes to Step S86. On theother hand, if the authentication return signal cannot be extracted inStep S82 or if the authentication is not OK in Step S84, the processflow goes back to Step S80. After that, the process from Step S80 toStep S84 is repeated until the predetermined time passes while waitingthat the authentication becomes OK.

When the authentication becomes OK, the temporary entry code is read outfrom the keyless entry code storage part 30 in Step S86, and it issuperimposed on the sound signal in Step S88 and is transmitted to thetelephone of the substitute drive service agent. Then, it is checked inStep S90 whether or not a predetermined time has passed after thetransmission. If the predetermined time has not passed yet, it ischecked in Step S92 whether or not an acknowledge signal of reception ofthe temporary entry code has been extracted from a sound signal receivedfrom the telephone of the substitute drive service agent. Then, if theextraction has succeeded, the process flow goes to Step S94. If theextraction has failed, the process flow goes back to Step S88 in whichthe temporary entry code is retransmitted. After that, the process fromStep S88 to Step S92 is repeated until a predetermined time passes whilewaiting that the reception acknowledge signal is extracted.

If the reception acknowledge signal is extracted in Step S92, it meansthat the temporary entry code has securely been transmitted to thesubstitute drive service agent. Therefore, the process flow goes to StepS94 in which it is checked whether or not a line disconnection operationwas performed. Then, if the line is disconnected, the process flow goesto Step S96. If the line disconnection operation is not detected in StepS94, the process flow goes back to Step S76. After that, the processfrom Step S76 to Step S94 is repeated.

Note that if a predetermined time has passed in Step S80 or in Step S90,the process flow goes to Step S94 in which it is checked whether or notthe operation of disconnecting the line and finishing the process flowwas performed. If the line disconnection is not detected in Step S94,the process flow goes back to Step S76 so that the process can restartfrom the entry code transmission operation.

In Step S96, it is checked whether or not the transmission of thetemporary entry code performed in Step S76 to Step S94 has succeeded. Ifit has succeeded, the process flow goes to Step S98 in which the fact isreported to the vehicle 3, and the process flow is finished.

The vehicle 3 illustrated in FIG. 1 is equipped with a telephonecommunication part (not shown), which can communicate with the firsttelephone communication part 18 or the second telephone communicationpart 34 via a telephone line. The telephone communication part of thevehicle 3 is connected to the vehicle control part 38 similarly to thefirst telephone communication part 18 that is connected to the firstcellular control part 6, and it can transmit information communicated bythe telephone communication part of the vehicle 3 to individual parts ofthe vehicle 3 if necessary. The report to the vehicle 3 about thetemporary entry code transmission success in Step S98 is usuallyperformed by such digital signal communication via the telephone line.However, if the short-range communication is available, the report isperformed by transmitting the digital signal from the first cellularshort-range communication part 20 or the second cellular short-rangecommunication part 36 to the vehicle short-range communication part 48.

Note that if the communication to the vehicle 3 cannot be established inthe predetermined time so that the fact that the substitute driveservice is requested cannot be reported to the vehicle 3, the reportingprocess is once stopped in Step S98, and the process flow is finished.This case occurs in the case where the vehicle 3 is placed in a parkinglot outside the wireless communication area.

If the temporary entry code transmission success cannot be confirmed inStep S96, the process flow is finished as it is. This corresponds to thecase where the line is disconnected in Step S76, Step S80, or Step S90to Step S94. Note that the process flow is finished promptly also in thecase where the line cannot be connected in Step S74.

In the above-described Example 1, the entry code is superimposed on thesound signal and is handled as a sound data when the entry code istransmitted and received. This is for preventing the vehicle from beingstolen due to a leakage or forgery of the entry code, by setting theprecondition that the substitute drive service should be requested bysound communication with the substitute drive service agent, so that theentry code can be transmitted and received only if the soundcommunication line is connected. In addition, with this structure, theentry code can be transmitted and received in parallel with the soundcommunication with the substitute drive service agent.

However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. It ispossible to adopt a structure in which the entry code is communicated bya data communication system such as the Internet other than the soundcommunication line. In this case, in order to prevent a leakage orforgery of the entry code, an appropriate security countermeasure shouldbe considered when transmitting and receiving the entry code.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the first cellularcontrol part 6 concerning the process from the enrollment of thesubstitute drive service agent performed as the precondition of theentry code transmission to the substitute drive service agent in FIG. 5to the entry code transmission in FIG. 5. The process starts when thetelephone operating part 8 performs the substitute drive serviceoperation or the enrollment operation of the substitute drive serviceagent. Note that this substitute drive service operation is constitutedso as to support not only requesting for the substitute drive service tothe substitute drive service agent but also private lending of thevehicle to a friend or other person.

When the process flow starts, it is checked in Step S102 whether or notthere is an enrolled substitute drive service agent. If there is noenrolled substitute drive service agent, the process flow goes to StepS104. This is because enrolling of a substitute drive service agent isfirst required if there is no enrolled substitute drive service agenteven in the case where process flow starts for the substitute driveservice operation.

In Step S104, it is checked whether or not there is an input operationspecifying a substitute drive service agent to be enrolled. If theoperation is not detected in a predetermined time, the process flow goesto Step S106 in which a list of substitute drive service agents whichare not enrolled yet is displayed. This list is provided from asubstitute drive service group, including address, age, gender and thelike together with a profile of the substitute drive service agent,which is provided to the first cellular phone 1 via the Internet or thelike in advance.

While continuing the list display, the process flow goes to Step S108 inwhich it is checked whether or not an operation of selecting asubstitute drive service agent to be enrolled from the list display hasbeen performed in a predetermined time from start of the list display.If the operation is not detected in a predetermined time, the processflow goes to Step S110 in which a substitute drive service agent to beenrolled is selected from the list display in accordance with apredetermined rule as a substitute drive service agent automaticdesignation process, and the process flow goes to Step S112.

As described above, if there is no enrolled substitute drive serviceagent and if there is no operation in a predetermined time after theprocess flow starts, a substitute drive service agent to be enrolled isautomatically designated, and the process flow goes to Step S112.Therefore, if it is not important who should be enrolled as a substitutedrive service agent, even a user who does not know the complicatedprocedure can proceed the automatic enrollment of a substitute driveservice agent that is necessary for requesting the substitute driveservice.

On the other hand, if there is an input operation specifying asubstitute drive service agent to be enrolled in Step S104, the processflow goes to Step S114 in which the substitute drive service agent isdesignated as specified as the input, and the process flow goes to StepS112. In addition, also in the case where the operation of selectingfrom the list display is detected in Step S108, the process flow goes toStep S114 in which the substitute drive service agent to be enrolled isdesignated as selected, and the process flow goes to Step S112.

In Step S112, it is checked whether or not the substitute drive serviceagent who is decided to be enrolled in Step S110 or Step S114 has aproblem for driving the vehicle with respect to car insurance. Then, ifit is detected in Step S112 that there is a problem such that the driverto be enrolled cannot support an accident because of an escape clause ofthe car insurance, the process flow goes to Step S116 in which aprocedure of obtaining a temporary insurance is performed automatically,and the process flow goes to Step S118. This temporary insurance is forcovering the enrolled substitute drive service agent for a short term ofthree days, for example. On the other hand, if it is confirmed in StepS112 that the insurance is OK, the process flow goes to Step S118directly.

In Step S118, it is checked whether or not a new substitute driveservice agent to be enrolled is designated in Step S114 or Step S110. Ifit is true, the process flow goes to Step S120. In Step S120, theenrolling process of the substitute drive service agent decided to beenrolled is performed, and the process flow goes to Step S122. On theother hand, if a new designation of a substitute drive service agent isnot detected in Step S118, the process flow goes to Step S122 directly.The reason why such a case occurs will be described later.

In Step S122, it is checked whether or not the operation of expanding arange of the condition to be covered by the car insurance is performed.If it is true, the process flow goes to Step S124 in which insurancecontract revision process is performed, and the process flow goes toStep S126. On the other hand, if the insurance condition expansionoperation is not detected in Step S122, the process flow goes to StepS126 directly.

Here, the above-described insurance condition expansion operation willbe further described. If it is detected in Step S112 that the insuranceis not OK, the process of obtaining the temporary insurance is performedas an emergency measure in Step S116. In contrast, detected in Step S122is the insurance condition expansion operation such as cancellingrestriction to families in a normal insurance contract, for example. Theprocess of obtaining the temporary insurance is automatically performed,while the process of expanding a normal insurance condition is performedby manual operation.

Note that if it is detected in Step S102 that there is an enrolledsubstitute drive service agent, the process flow goes to Step S128 inwhich it is checked whether or not the process flow has started by theenrollment operation of the substitute drive service agent. If it istrue, the process flow goes to Step S104 in which a process of enrollinga new substitute drive service agent is performed in accordance with theprocess flow described above.

On the other hand, if it is detected in Step S128 that the process flowin FIG. 6 is not started by the enrollment operation of the substitutedrive service agent, it corresponds to the case where the process flowis started by the substitute drive service operation and there is anenrolled substitute drive service agent. In this case, the process flowgoes basically to Step S126, but there is Step S130 before that, inwhich it is checked whether or not the car insurance is OK. If it is OK,the process flow goes to Step S126 directly. If there is a problem, theprocess flow goes to Step S116.

Step S130 is provided because there is the case where even if theenrolled substitute drive service agent is supposed in the substitutedrive service operation, the insurance condition expansion operationsupposing the driver was not performed in the past, and the temporaryinsurance that was obtained automatically is expired. Therefore, in thiscase, similarly to the above description, the temporary insurance isobtained again in Step S116 first, and the process flow goes to StepS122 in which the insurance condition expansion operation is checked.Note that this case does not correspond to a new designation of thesubstitute drive service agent, so Step S120 is skipped.

In Step S126, it is checked whether or not the process flow in FIG. 6 isstarted by the substitute drive service operation. If it is true, theprocess flow goes to Step S132, in which it is checked whether or notthere is an operation of designating a substitute drive service agent.The contents of Step S132 is to display a list of a plurality ofenrolled substitute drive service agents if there are, and to checkwhether or not the operation of selecting a substitute drive serviceagent from them has been performed in a predetermined time after thedisplay. If there is no designation operation in a predetermined timefrom start of the list display, the process flow goes to Step S134 inwhich a substitute drive service agent is designated automatically basedon a predetermined priority order, and the process flow goes to StepS136. On the other hand, if it is detected in Step S132 that there is adesignation operation, the process flow goes to Step S138 in whichdesignation is performed as the operation, and the process flow goes toStep S136. Note that if there is one enrolled substitute drive serviceagent, the process flow goes from Step S132 to Step S134 promptly, inwhich the automatic designation process is performed, and the processflow goes to Step S136.

In Step S136, a process of transmitting the temporary keyless entry codeto the designated substitute drive service agent is performed, and theprocess flow is finished. A detail of Step S136 is as described abovewith reference to FIG. 5.

As described above, according to the process flow in FIG. 6, even if thesubstitute drive service agent simply performs the substitute driveservice operation in an unenrolled state and then performs no operation,the process of automatic designation of the substitute drive serviceagent is performed in Step S110, the process of automatically obtainingthe temporary car insurance is performed in Step S116, the substitutedrive service agent is automatically enrolled in Step S120, and furtherthe substitute drive service agent is automatically designated in StepS134 and the temporary entry code of the designated substitute driveservice agent is transmitted in Step S136. Therefore, even if the userdoes not know a substitute drive service agent or a detailed operationprocedure for requesting the substitute drive service, the user caneasily request the substitute drive service. This is good in the casewhere the user has to request the substitute drive service in hasteafter drinking.

The function according to the process flow illustrated in FIG. 6 cansupport not only the above-described case but also a manual operationbased on various requests from the user.

FIG. 7 is a basic flowchart illustrating an operation of the vehiclecontrol part 38 of the vehicle 3 illustrated in FIG. 1, and the processflow starts when electricity is supplied from the battery of the vehicle3. When the process flow starts, it is checked in Step S142 whether ornot each part of the vehicle 3 has a problem. If there is a problem, acountermeasure process in Step S144 is performed. When thecountermeasure process is finished, the process flow goes to Step S146.In addition, if it is checked in Step S142 that each part of the vehicle3 is OK, the process flow goes to Step S146 directly.

In Step S146, the vehicle control part 38 checks whether or not akeyless entry code signal for opening or closing the door is detected.If it is detected, the process flow goes to Step S148 forauthentication, in which the keyless entry code management part 52checks whether or not the detected code matches a reference code or atemporary reference code stored in the keyless entry code managementpart 52. If the detection result matches either one of them, i.e., theauthentication is OK, the process flow goes to Step S150 in which thedoor lock part 54 is unlocked or locked. Then, the process flow goes toStep S152. In contrast, if there is not detection in Step S146, or ifthe authentication of the detection result is failed in Step S148, theprocess flow goes to Step S152 directly.

Here, the “reference code” corresponds to the entry code transmittedfrom the owner of the vehicle 3 and is an entry code to be referred tostored in the vehicle 3 for authentication. On the other hand, the“temporary reference code” corresponds to the temporary entry codetransmitted from the substitute drive service agent or a lender of thevehicle and is a temporary entry code to be referred to, which is storedin the vehicle 3 for authentication. The reference code and thetemporary reference code are frequently updated by different managementprocedures and managed with the update date. A detail thereof will bedescribed later.

In Step S152, it is checked whether or not a keyless entry code signalfor unlock the engine is detected. If the signal is detected, theprocess flow goes to Step S154 for authentication, in which the keylessentry code management part 52 checks whether or not the detected codematches the reference code or the temporary reference code stored in thekeyless entry code management part 52. If the detection result matcheseither one of them, i.e., the authentication is OK, the process flowgoes to Step S156 in which the engine lock part 56 is unlocked. Then,the process flow goes to Step S158. In contrast, if there is nodetection in Step S152, or if the authentication of the detection resultis failed in Step S154, the process flow goes to Step S158 directly.

In Step S158, the code management process is performed. This is aprocess of changing the entry code in association with the cellularphone so as to prevent a theft of the vehicle 3 due to leakage of theentry code. A detail thereof will be described later.

Next, in Step S160, it is detected whether or not drive operation isperformed. If the operation is detected, the process flow goes to StepS162 in which a drive process is performed as the operation, and theprocess flow goes back to Step S142. On the other hand, if the driveoperation is not detected in Step S160, the process flow goes back toStep S142 directly.

After that, the process from Step S142 to Step S162 is repeated so as torespond various situations about the vehicle 3.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating Example 2 of the keyless entrysystem according to the embodiment of the present invention. Example 2has basically the same structure as Example 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 butis additionally provided with the structure for charging a firstcellular phone 102 from a vehicle 104 and for performing signalcommunication between them via a cellular phone connector 108 when thefirst cellular phone 102 is placed on a cradle 106 of the vehicle 104.Hereinafter, the additional structure will mainly be described inExample 2, and the same part as in Example 1 is denoted by the samenumeral so that description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the second cellular phone 2 and the parking lot 4 are notillustrated in Example 2 of FIG. 8 unlike in FIG. 1. They are merelyomitted for simplification, and Example 2 is also constituted as asystem including the second cellular phone 2 and the parking lot 4similarly to Example 1. In this point, Example 2 is not different fromExample 1. In addition, a symbol indicating the wireless communicationis also omitted in FIG. 8. However, Example 2 is not different fromExample 1 concerning the wireless communication between the firstcellular short-range communication part 20 and the vehicle short-rangecommunication part 48, the wireless communication between the keylessentry communication part 28 of the first cellular phone 102 and thekeyless entry communication part 50 of the vehicle 104, and the like.

In FIG. 8, a power source 110 of the vehicle 104 is provided forsupplying electricity to each part of the vehicle, and the vehicle 3 ofExample 1 also has the same although the description is omitted. Thecradle 106 is designed to support the bottom of the first cellular phone102 and has a power source contact 112 and a signal contact 114. Thepower source contact 112 supplies electric power for charging from thepower source 110 externally. In addition, the signal contact 114 isconnected to the vehicle control part 38 so as to be an interface forcommunicating a signal externally.

The cellular phone connector 108 is provided to the bottom of the firstcellular phone 102 and includes a power source contact 116 whichcontacts with the power source contact 112 of the cradle 106 and asignal contact 118 which contacts with the signal contact 114 of thecradle 106 when the first cellular phone 102 is placed on the cradle106. The power source contact 116 is connected to the main power source24 so as to be supplied with electric power from the vehicle 104 and tocharge the main power source 24. In addition, the signal contact 118 isconnected to the first cellular control part 6 so as to be an interfacefor external signal communication.

Between the signal contact 114 of the cradle 106 and the signal contact118 of the cellular phone connector 108, various information can beexchanged between the first cellular phone 102 and the vehicle 104. Forinstance, image information taken by the camera part 22 and stored inthe storage part 12 can be moved or copied to the storage part 44 of thevehicle 104 having larger capacity than the storage part 12. The imageinformation supplied to the storage part 44 in this way can be viewed ona car navigation screen (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 104. Inaddition, the image information stored in the storage part 12 can beviewed directly on the car navigation screen. Further, sightseeinginformation or the like obtained by the first cellular phone 102 via theInternet may be sent to the vehicle 104 so that the destination can beset in the car navigation.

Further, every time when the first cellular phone 102 is placed on thecradle 106 of the vehicle 104 for charging, communication for updatingthe keyless entry code is performed between the signal contact 114 andthe signal contact 118 as a countermeasure against a leakage or forgeryof the keyless entry code. A detail thereof will be described later.

Note that the cradle 106 and the cellular phone connector 108 constitutea contact system in Example 2 described above, but they may constitutenon-contact system utilizing power transmission with electromagneticinduction and signal transmission with weak radio wave. In the case ofthe non-contact system too, the first cellular phone 102 is designed tobe placed on the cradle 106.

In addition, Example 2 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a telephone linecommunication part 120. This has a structure similar to the firsttelephone functional part 10 and the first telephone communication part18 in the first cellular phone 102, so that the wireless communicationcan be performed with the first cellular phone 102 via the telephoneline. The telephone line communication part 120 can also perform voicecommunication as a vehicle telephone, but the main purpose of thestructure is to perform the data communication for the keyless entrycode transmission to the first cellular phone 102 and an access to theInternet. Such the telephone line communication part 120 is alsoprovided in Example 1 of FIG. 1, but the illustration thereof is omittedin FIG. 1.

Note that the basic flowchart of the vehicle illustrated in FIG. 7 cancommonly be applied to the vehicle control part 38 of the vehicle 104 inExample 2 described above.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a detail of the code managementprocess in Step S158 of FIG. 7 and can be applied to each of Example 1illustrated in FIG. 1 and Example 2 illustrated in FIG. 2. Note that apart of the functions about the placement on the cradle is unique toExample 2, and other processes are simply skipped. Therefore, thefunctions may also be applied to Example 1 as they are, though there isredundancy. Alternatively, the redundant steps may be eliminated ifnecessary for applying to Example 1.

When the process flow starts, it is checked whether or not the time whenthe code management process has started is within the range from zero tofive seconds in every minute based on the clock function incorporated inthe vehicle control part 38. If it is true, an entry code random numberis generated in Step S174, an update entry code register is overwrittenbased on its result in Step S176, and the process flow goes to StepS178. On the other hand, if it is not true in Step S172, the processflow goes to Step S178 directly.

Note that the process flow in FIG. 9 is a part of the process flowillustrated in FIG. 7. Since the process flow illustrated in FIG. 7 isrepeated, it passes through Step S172 described above every time. Theprobability that the time on this occasion is in the range from zero tofive seconds in every minute is 1/12. Supposing that the frequency ofpassing through Step S172 is 12 times per minute, the process flow goesfrom Step S172 to Step S174 once every minute as the average. Therefore,the update entry code register is rewritten in Step S176 once per minuteas an average based on the random number. As to the process flowillustrated in FIG. 7, if there is the process in Step S144 or StepS162, the frequency of passing through the code management in Step S158is decreased, but it is no problem because it is not necessary to guardagainst theft or the like by updating the entry code while such theprocess is performed. On the contrary, if the vehicle is parked andthere is no process, the process in Step S158 is repeated at highfrequency. Therefore, rewriting of the communication entry code registerin Step S176 of FIG. 9 is also performed at high frequency.

In Step S178, it is checked whether or not the date of the update of thereference code is the same day. If it is not the same day, the processflow goes to Step S180. This corresponds to the case where the referencecode is the old one that was updated on the previous day or before.

In Step S180, a latest update entry code is read from the update entrycode register, and a reference entry code stored in the keyless entrycode management part 52 is updated. Next, in Step S182, the same data asthe updated reference entry code is transmitted by wireless to thecellular phone of the vehicle owner as the update entry code. Thistransmission is first tried by the vehicle short-range wirelesscommunication part 48. If it failed, the transmission is performed bythe telephone line communication part. Then, in Step S184, it is checkedwhether or not a predetermined time has passed after the transmission.If it has not passed, it is checked in Step S186 whether or not thereport indicating that the entry code update had finished has beenreceived from the cellular phone of the vehicle owner. The cellularphone performs automatically the process from the update to thetransmission of the finish report based on the reception of the entrycode. Therefore, the entry code update of the cellular phone isperformed automatically without an operation of the owner.

If the reception of the update finish report is not confirmed in StepS186, the update entry code is retransmitted in Step S178. Hereinafter,the process from Step S182 to Step S186 is repeated until apredetermined time has passed while waiting reception of the updatefinish report. Then, reception of the update finish report is confirmedin Step S186, the process flow goes to Step S188. On the other hand, ifit is checked in Step S184 that the reception of the update finishreport is not confirmed in the predetermined time, the transmission isonce stopped, and the process flow goes to Step S188.

In addition, if the date of the reference entry code update is the sameday in Step S178, the process flow goes to Step S190 in which it ischecked whether or not the same data as the reference entry code hasbeen transmitted to the vehicle owner. Then, if it has been transmitted,the process flow goes to Step S188. In this way, every time when thedate changes, the reference entry code is updated in Step S180, which issent to the cellular phone. Note that if the data has not transmitted inStep S190, the process flow goes to Step S182 so as to perform thetransmission. This is a countermeasure against the case where datatransmission to the vehicle owner has failed just after the referenceentry code update.

In Step S188, it is checked whether or not the cellular phone of thevehicle owner is placed on the cradle 106 of the vehicle 104. If it istrue, the process flow goes to Step S192 in which update control processof the latest communication entry code is performed. If the cellularphone of the vehicle owner is placed on the cradle 106, the cellularphone functions as a drive under control of the vehicle control part 38via the signal contacts 114 and 118. Therefore, transmission andconfirmation of the update entry code to the cellular phone can beperformed directly in real time in Step S192. Then, after finishing ofthe process in Step S192, the process flow goes to Step S194 in whichthe reference entry code stored in the keyless entry code managementpart 52 of the vehicle is updated corresponding to the abovedescription, and the process flow goes to Step S196. On the other hand,if it is not detected in Step S188 that the cellular phone of thevehicle owner is placed on the cradle 106, the process flow goes to StepS196 directly. In this way, every time when the cellular phone of thevehicle owner is placed on the cradle 106 of the vehicle 104, update ofthe entry code in the cellular phone and update of the correspondingreference entry code in the vehicle are performed in Step S192 and StepS194.

In Step S196, the temporary entry code management process is performed.Step S178 to Step S194 are related to the entry code management for thekeyless entry by the cellular phone of the vehicle owner. Step S196 isrelated to the temporary entry code management for the keyless entry bythe cellular phone of the substitute drive service agent or the lenderof the vehicle. A detail thereof will be described later.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a detail of the temporary entry codemanagement process in Step S196 of FIG. 9. When the process flow starts,it is checked in Step S202 whether or not the temporary reference entrycode is stored in the keyless entry code management part 52 of thevehicle. Then, if it is not stored, data is read from the update entrycode register and is newly entered and stored in the keyless entry codemanagement part 52.

Next, the same temporary entry code as that entered newly in Step S206is transmitted to the cellular phone of the vehicle owner. This isperformed so that the temporary entry code in the vehicle matches thatin the cellular phone of the vehicle owner. The content of Step S206corresponds to Step S182 to Step S186 in FIG. 9. If the transmission isfinished, or the transmission is not finished in a predetermined time,the process flow goes to Step S208.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed in Step S202 that the temporaryreference entry code is already stored in the keyless entry codemanagement part 52, the process flow goes to Step S210 in which it ischecked whether or not the code is already transmitted to the vehicleowner. Then, if it is not transmitted, the process flow goes to StepS206 in which it is transmitted. The case where it is not transmittedcorresponds to the case where the temporary reference entry code isnewly entered in Step S204, and then the transmission process failed inStep S206.

In Step S208, it is checked whether or not the report indicating thatthe substitute drive service has been requested is transmitted from thecellular phone of the vehicle owner and is received by the vehicle.Then, if it is received, the process flow goes to Step S212 in which itis checked whether or not 24 hours have passed from receiving thesubstitute drive service request report. Then, if it has passed, theprocess flow goes to Step S214 in which it is checked whether or not thetemporary entry code update after 24 hours have passed is transmitted.

Further, if the update temporary entry code is not transmitted, theprocess flow goes to Step S216 in which data is read from the updateentry code register, and the temporary reference entry code stored inthe keyless entry code management part 52 is updated. Then, the updatetemporary entry code is transmitted to the cellular phone of the vehicleowner in Step S218. A content of Step S218 also corresponds to Step S182to Step S186 in FIG. 9. If the transmission is finished, or if thetransmission is not finished in a predetermined time, the process flowis finished. Note that if the process flow is finished with theunfinished transmission, the code management process of Step S158 isperformed again in the repetition of the fundamental process flowillustrated in FIG. 7, and when the temporary entry code managementprocess of Step S196 is performed, Step S212 to Step S218 is performedso that transmission of the updated temporary entry code to the vehicleowner is tried again.

On the other hand, if 24 hours have not passed after the request reportreception in Step S212, the process flow is finished promptly. Inaddition, the process flow is finished promptly also in the case wherethe updated temporary entry code is already transmitted in Step S214.

As described above, if the substitute drive service request report isreceived, the temporary entry code is updated when 24 hours have passedafter that. Therefore, the temporary entry code transmitted from thecellular phone of the vehicle owner to the substitute drive serviceagent becomes invalid. Thus, even if an unexpected situation in whichthe temporary entry code transmitted externally is leaked has occurred,entry into the vehicle using the temporary entry code becomes impossibleafter 24 hours have passed. On the other hand, if the substitute driveservice is requested, it is secured that the temporary entry codetransmitted to the substitute drive service agent is not updated for 24hours. Therefore, it is impossible to change the temporary entry codearbitrarily in that period so that the substitute drive service agentcannot enter. In contrast, if the entry code is for the vehicle owner inperson, it is changed appropriately in the case where the date changesas illustrated in Step S178 and Step S180 of FIG. 9, or in the casewhere the cellular phone is placed on the cradle of the vehicle asillustrated in Step S188 to Step S194 of FIG. 9.

On the other hand, if the substitute drive service request report is notreceived in Step S208, the process flow goes to Step S220 for a safetyprocess. This safety process is intended for the case where thesubstitute drive service is requested, but the report thereof is notreceived by the vehicle due to a communication environment. Instead ofupdating the temporary reference code automatically at a predeterminedtime as illustrated in Step S212 to Step S216, update of the entry codeis performed by a predetermined procedure considering safe driving so asto prevent theft of the vehicle due to a leakage or forgery of the entrycode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a detail of the above-describedsafety process in Step S220 of FIG. 10. When the process flow starts, itis checked whether or not there is the case where the keyless entryprocess was performed and the authenticated data corresponds to thetemporary authentication entry code. In other words, it is checkedwhether or not the keyless entry process has been performed with a validtemporary entry code.

If the keyless entry process was not performed at this time point, or ifthe keyless entry process was performed with the cellular phone of thevehicle owner, it is not related to Step S232. In this case, it is notnecessary to perform the safety process, so the process flow is finishedpromptly.

On the other hand, if the keyless entry process was performed with avalid temporary entry code, the process flow goes from Step S232 to StepS234 in which it is checked whether or not the cellular phone of theowner is in the area where communication can be performed. Then, if itis in the communication area, a substitute drive service requestconfirmation process is performed in Step S236. This has the samemeaning as the substitute drive service request report process to thevehicle in Step S98. In the Step S98, the cellular phone reports to thevehicle. In contrast, the vehicle reports to the cellular phone in StepS236. In this way, even if the vehicle is parked in a parking lotoutside the communication area for example so that the report indicatingthat the substitute drive service has been requested cannot be receivedby the vehicle at the stage of Step S98, the substitute drive serviceagent may move the vehicle so that the vehicle enters the communicationarea. Then, Step S234 to Step S236 function so that the process isautomatically performed for the vehicle to obtain the informationindicating that the substitute drive service has been requested.

Then, in the next Step S238, it is checked whether or not the substitutedrive service request is confirmed. If it is OK, it is not necessary toperform the safety process. Therefore, the process flow goes to StepS258 in which it is handled in the same manner as the case where thesubstitute drive service request report has been received, and theprocess flow is finished.

In contrast, if the substitute drive service request cannot be confirmedin Step S236, the process flow goes from Step S238 to Step S240 in whichan announcement is performed. This announcement is performed for warningthe driver in advance that if a predetermined condition which will bedescribed later is satisfied, the driver cannot enter the vehicle orstart the engine, so as to prevent an unexpected situation due to beingunable to enter the vehicle or to start the engine. In addition, if thepredetermined condition which will be described later is satisfied to beunable to enter the vehicle or to start the engine, the driver isinformed of the reason thereof.

Then, in Step S242, it is checked whether or not the engine is startedwith the temporary keyless entry code. If the engine is not started yet,the safety process is not started and the process flow is finishedpromptly.

On the other hand, if it is detected in Step S242 that the engine isstarted, the safety process is started, and it is checked in Step S244whether or not the count of the number of starting the engine and lapsetime from the first engine start is already started. Then, if it is notstarted yet, the process flow goes to Step S246 in which count of thenumber of times of starting the engine and lapse time from the firstengine is started, and the process flow goes to Step S248. On the otherhand, if it is detected in Step S244 that the count is already started,the process flow goes to Step S248 directly.

In Step S248, it is checked whether or not the number of times ofstarting the engine has reached a predetermined number of times (e.g.,three times). If it has not reached yet, it is checked in the next StepS250 whether or not the lapse time from the first engine start hasreached a predetermined time (e.g., three hours). Then, if both of themare false, the process flow is finished.

In contrast, if it is detected in Step S248 that the number of times ofstarting the engine has reached the predetermined number of times or ifit is detected in Step S250 that the lapse time from the first enginestart has reached the predetermined time, the process flow goes to StepS252 in which it is checked whether or not the temporary entry codeupdated after the first engine start has been transmitted to the vehicleowner. If it has not been transmitted yet, the process flow goes to StepS254 in which the temporary reference entry code is updated. Thus, afterthat, it becomes impossible to enter the vehicle or to start the enginewith the original temporary entry code.

As described above, theft of the vehicle or other malpractice due to aleakage or forgery of the entry code can be prevented while preventing adangerous situation when an authorized substitute drive service agentdrives the vehicle without the substitute drive service request reportto the vehicle.

In Step S254, if the temporary reference entry code is updated, theprocess flow goes to Step S256 in which the updated temporary entry codeis transmitted to the cellular phone of the vehicle owner. A content ofStep S256 also corresponds to Step S182 to Step S186 in FIG. 9. If thetransmission is finished, or if the transmission has not finished in apredetermined time, the process flow is finished.

Note that in the process of dealing in the same manner as the case ofthe substitute drive service request report in Step S258, even if thetemporary reference entry code is updated via Step S254, it is returnedto the temporary reference entry code when the engine is started in StepS242. Then, the management of the temporary entry code is performed bythe process from Step S212 to Step S218 in FIG. 10. Therefore, even ifthe entry is once disabled by Step S254, the process flow goes from StepS236 to Step S258 via Step S238 in which keyless entry with the originaltemporary entry code becomes enabled unless 24 hours have passed fromthe substitute drive service request.

FIG. 12 is related to Example 3 of the keyless entry system according tothe embodiment of the present invention. Example 3 is basically similarto Example 1, and a detail of the structure can be understood withreference to FIG. 1. In addition, Example 3 can be carried out also inExample 2 illustrated in FIG. 8. Example 3 is different from Example 1and Example 2 in that a function of handling information of a parkingposition of the vehicle and positional information of the vehicle ownerin the substitute drive service request is added to the first cellularcontrol part 6 illustrated in FIG. 1 or 8.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a function of the first cellularcontrol part 6 when the telephone operating part 8 performs thetelephone call operation to the substitute drive service agent who hasbeen enrolled, similarly to FIG. 5. When the process flow starts, thecode that is temporarily stored as a present position of the vehicleowner who has the first cellular phone 1 is displayed in Step S262. Thisvehicle owner temporary position code is stored as the latest presentposition of the vehicle owner, and a detail thereof will be describedlater.

Next, in Step S264, it is checked whether or not the operation ofapproving the displayed vehicle owner position code by the vehicle ownerhas been performed from a display in a predetermined time. The vehicleowner having the first cellular phone 1 does not always wait the vehiclethat is driven by the substitute drive service agent at the positionindicated by the stored vehicle owner temporary position code whenrequesting the substitute drive service. Therefore, the process fromStep S262 and Step S264 is provided for checking whether or not thevehicle owner has an intention to wait the substitute drive serviceagent at the displayed position.

If the approval operation is detected, the process flow goes to StepS266 in which the temporary code displayed in Step S262 is approved asthe vehicle owner position code, and the process flow goes to Step S268.On the other hand, if the approval operation is not detected in apredetermined time in Step S264, the process flow goes to Step S268directly. In this case, the process flow goes to Step S268 without theapproved vehicle owner position code.

In Step S268, calling operation to the telephone number of the enrolledsubstitute drive service agent is performed similarly to Step S72 inFIG. 5, and it is checked in Step S270 whether or not the line isconnected in a predetermined time.

If the connection is confirmed, the process flow goes to Step S272 inwhich it is checked whether or not the operation for transmitting theentry code has been performed by the telephone operating part 8. Then,if it is confirmed that the operation has been performed, the processflow goes to Step S274 for authentication process. This authenticationprocess is similar to Step S78 to Step S84 in FIG. 5 and is a process ofperforming authentication of the substitute drive service agent to whomthe line is connected by transmission of the request signal anddetection of the authentication return signal. Note that in theauthentication process of Step S274, similarly to FIG. 5, if theauthentication signal is not detected in a predetermined time after thetransmission of the authentication request signal, the process flow cango directly to Step S288 for inquiring a line disconnection operationthat will be described later, which is not illustrated in FIG. 12.

In addition, in the authentication process in Step S274 that is similarto FIG. 5, the transmission of the authentication request signal and thecommunication of the authentication return signal are performed bysuperimposing on the sound signal, but the present invention is notlimited in this embodiment and may be performed by a normal datacommunication.

If the authentication of the substitute drive service agent is succeededin Step S274, the process flow goes to Step S276 that is similar to StepS86 in FIG. 5, in which the temporary entry code is read out from thekeyless entry code storage part 30.

In the next Step S278, it is checked whether or not the parking codeindicating the parking position of the vehicle of the substitute driveservice request is stored in the storage part 12. If it is stored, it isread out in Step S280 and the process flow goes to Step S282. On theother hand, if the parking code is not detected in Step S278, theprocess flow goes to Step S282 directly.

In Step S282, it is checked whether or not the vehicle owner positioncode that has been approved in Step S266 is stored in storage part 12.If it is stored, it is read out in Step S284 and the process flow goesto Step S286. On the other hand, if the approved vehicle owner positioncode is not detected in Step S282, the process flow goes to Step S286directly.

In Step S286, a transmission process is performed for transmitting thecodes that have been read out in Step S276, Step S280 and Step S284 asdescribed above. If these are all transmitted, the substitute driveservice agent can drive the vehicle with the temporary entry code andcan obtain information of where the vehicle is to be fetched and whereit is to be driven.

As a matter of course, if there is not one or both of the read codes inStep S280 and Step S284, each of the codes is not transmitted. In thiscase, the substitute drive service agent should obtain the informationfor driving the vehicle appropriately by making contact with the vehicleowner. The information of the parking position and the present positionof the vehicle owner can be obtained orally over the phone whenrequesting the substitute drive service, and can be supplementedappropriately by communication afterward.

The read code transmission process in Step S286 is similar to Step S88to Step S92 in FIG. 5, and is for securing reading out and transmittingthe code by detection of the transmission of the read code and thereception acknowledge signal. Also in the read code transmission processin Step S286, similarly to FIG. 5, if the reception acknowledge signalcannot be detected in a predetermined time after the transmission of theread signal, the process flow can go directly to Step S288 for a processof inquiring the line disconnection, which is not illustrated in FIG.12.

In addition, also in the transmission process of Step S286, similarly toFIG. 5, the transmission of the read code and the communication of thereception acknowledge signal by superimposing on the sound signal, butthe present invention is not limited to this embodiment. It is possibleto perform it by a normal data communication.

If the read code transmission process is finished in Step S286, theprocess flow goes to Step S288 similarly to Step S94 in FIG. 5, in whichit is checked whether or not the line disconnection operation has beenperformed. Then, if the line is disconnected, the process flow goes toStep S290 for a follow-up process. On the other hand, if the linedisconnection operation is not detected in Step S288, the process flowgoes back to Step S272, and the process of Step S272 to Step S288 isrepeated.

The follow-up process in Step S290 is similar to Step S96 and Step S98in FIG. 5, and is for checking whether or not the read code transmissionhas succeeded and for reporting to the vehicle 3 if it has succeeded.Further, similarly to the process flow proceeding to the end in FIG. 5,the process flow goes to the next Step S292 regardless of success or notof the read code transmission. Note that the process flow goes to StepS292 also in the case where the line cannot be connected in Step S270.

If the vehicle owner position code is approved in Step S266, Step S292is a process of cancelling the same. The approval in Step S266 islimited to the occasion when requesting the substitute drive service,and it is rare that the owner of the first cellular phone 1 stays at thesame position. In other words, the approval performed in Step S266 is adead one after it is sent to the substitute drive service agent in thesubstitute drive service request, and it is also needless in the casewhere the substitute drive service request cannot be performed.Therefore, in order to avoid confusion after that, Step S292 is providedin which if the approval of the vehicle owner position code is performedin either case, the approval is canceled and the process flow isfinished.

FIG. 13 is related to Example 3 and is a flowchart illustrating afunction of the first cellular control part 6 for obtaining the parkingcode that is handled in Step S280 of FIG. 12. The process flowillustrated in FIG. 13 starts by stopping the engine of the vehicle.First in Step S302, it is checked whether or not the parking code isstored in the storage part 12 of FIG. 1.

Then, if it is stored, the process flow goes to Step S304 in whichcommunication with the vehicle is performed. Then, it is checked whetheror not the engine has been stopped after running a predetermineddistance (e.g., 50 meters) after storing the parking code.

If it is detected in Step S304 that the engine has been stopped afterrunning a predetermined distance, the process flow goes to Step S306 inwhich the parking code stored in the storage part 12 is erased and theprocess flow goes to Step S308. On the other hand, if it is decided inStep S302 that the parking code is not stored, the process flow goesdirectly to Step S308. In addition, the process flow goes directly toStep S306 also in the case where it is detected in Step S304 that theengine has been stopped not after running a predetermined distance orlonger. In this case, the stored parking code is maintained.

The above-described process is aimed at the case where the parking codethat has no meaning as information is stored, which should be erased foravoiding confusion.

In Step S308, it is checked whether or not a code of a garage that isregularly used, such as a garage at home or a garage at working place(or a parking lot which will also be called a garage collectively in thefollowing description), is received by the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20. This is enabled in the case where the short-rangecommunication part 62 or the like is provided to the garage as theparking lot 4, so that the vehicle 3 that enters the short-rangecommunication area and is parked can be detected, and that the codespecifying the garage is transmitted.

If it is not the case, the process flow goes to Step S310 in which it ischecked whether or not the code specifying the garage that istemporarily used is received by the first short-range communication part20. This is enabled in the case where the short-range communication partis provided also to the temporary garage similarly to the regulargarage. Note that this garage code is preferably managed integrally bythe common system.

If it is not true in Step S310, the process flow goes to Step S312 inwhich it is checked whether or not the vehicle GPS position code isreceived by the GPS part 16 of the first cellular phone 1 when theengine is stopped.

Note that the position data obtained by the GPS part 16 of the firstcellular phone 1 is the vehicle GPS position code in the abovedescription. This is because that the holder of the first cellular phone1 is driving the vehicle 3, and therefore it can be regarded that theposition of the first cellular phone 1 is the position of the vehicle 3.Instead of this, it is possible to adopt another structure in which thedata received by the GPS part 46 of the vehicle 3 is regarded as thevehicle GPS position code, and this is relayed from the vehicleshort-range communication part 48 to the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20.

In either case described above, if the vehicle GPS position code isreceived by the first cellular phone 1, the process flow goes to StepS314 in which the received code is overwritten as the parking positioncode on the old code and is stored in the storage part 12 for updating,and the process flow is finished.

On the other hand, if it is detected in Step S308 that the regulargarage code is received, the process flow goes to Step S316 in which anarrival transmission process is performed. This transmission isperformed automatically to home or the working place by the firsttelephone communication part 18 (or the first cellular short-rangecommunication part 20, if possible), so that families can be informed ofthe homecoming or it can be used as attendance management information ina time card system. In this way, because the transmission is performedfrom the cellular phone 1, it is sufficient that the regular garage hasonly the short-range communication part for a simple function ofautomatically transmitting the regular garage code.

When the arrival transmission process is completed, the process flowgoes to Step S318 in which the garage code in the storage part 12 isoverwritten with the received code and is stored for updating, and theprocess flow goes to Step S320.

In addition, the process flow goes to Step S318 also in the case whereit is detected in Step S310 that the temporary garage code is received,in which the garage code in the storage part 12 is overwritten with thereceived code and is stored for updating, and the process flow goes toStep S320.

Note that the garage code stored in Step S318 functions as the parkingcode that is complementary with the parking position code stored in StepS314. In other words, the garage code specifies the enrolled parking lotname or the like, which is managed as a standardized code, so it issuitable for setting as a destination or the like in the navigationsystem as described later. In contrast, the parking position code is notsuitable for standardization but is suitable for specifying a positionwhere the vehicle is actually parked in a large parking lot whoseparking lot name can only be specified by the garage code alone.

In Step S320, it is checked whether or not the code specifying theparking position in the garage, adding to the garage code stored in StepS318, is received. This in-garage position code is transmitted from theshort-range communication part of the garage under the management by thesystem of every garage, which can specify the parking position number,for example. Then, if this in-garage position code is received, theprocess flow goes to Step S314 in which the received code is overwrittenand stored in the storage part 12, and the process flow is finished.

On the other hand, if it is not detected in Step S320 that the in-garageposition code is received, the process flow goes to Step S322 in whichit is checked whether or not the code indicating the relative positionof the vehicle in the garage is received. Such the relative positioncode can be obtained in the garage in which a plurality of short-rangecommunication parts are disposed like the parking lot first short-rangecommunication part 62 and the parking lot second short-rangecommunication part 64 which share the communication area, as the parkinglot 4 illustrated in FIG. 1. In other words, the parking lot controlpart 58 locates the relative position of the first cellular phone 1 inthe parking lot 4 based on the radio wave analysis of which short-rangecommunication part in the parking lot 4 can communicate with the firstcellular phone 1, or the radio wave analysis of the triangularcommunication among the plurality of short-range communication parts inthe parking lot 4 and the first cellular phone 1, and the locationresult is transmitted as the relative position code to the firstcellular short-range communication part 20. Then, if this relativeposition code is received, the process flow goes to Step S314 in whichthe received code is overwritten and stored in the storage part 12, andthe process flow is finished.

If it is not detected in Step S322 that the relative position code isreceived, the process flow goes to Step S324 in which it is checkedwhether or not the vehicle GPS position code is received. Further, theprocess flow goes to Step S314 also in the case where the vehicle GPSposition code is received, in which the received code is overwritten andstored in the storage part 12, and the process flow is finished. On theother hand, if it is not detected in Step S324 that the vehicle GPSposition code is received, the process flow is finished. In this case,the garage code stored in Step S318 is only the parking code, and theparking position code is not stored.

If the vehicle GPS position code is not received in step S312 by the GPSpart 16 of the first cellular phone 1 when the engine is stopped, itmeans that the vehicle is outside the communication area of the GPS whenthe engine is stopped. In this case, the process flow goes to Step S326in which it is checked whether or not the latest GPS information justbefore being outside the communication area among the GPS informationstored in the vehicle in the navigation process is received as areference GPS position code from the short-range communication part ofthe vehicle. Then, if it is received, the process flow goes to Step S328in which the reference GPS position code is stored and the process flowis finished. This reference GPS position code does not indicates theparking position of the vehicle in the strict sense, but it is GPSinformation just before being outside the GPS communication area beforereaching the parking position. Because it is information of a positionclose to the parking position of the vehicle, it can be used asreference information for finding the vehicle.

FIG. 14 relates to Example 3 and is a flowchart illustrating a functionof the first cellular control part 6 for obtaining the vehicle ownertemporary position code that is displayed in Step S262 of FIG. 12. Theprocess flow illustrated in FIG. 14 is started automatically by aninterrupt every predetermined set period (e.g., 30 minutes), or when thefirst cellular short-range communication part has received a spot codefrom a predetermined spot (e.g., a facility or a restaurant or thelike), or when the GPS part 16 of the first cellular phone 1 hasreceived new GPS information. In addition, when the manual operation ofentering the position code is performed with the telephone operatingpart 8 too, the interrupt occurs so that the process flow in FIG. 14starts.

When the process flow starts, it is checked in Step S332 whether or notthe vehicle owner temporary position code is stored in the storage part12. Then, if it is stored, the process flow goes to Step S334 in whichit is checked whether or not a predetermined time (e.g., 12 hours) haspassed after the code is stored.

If it is detected in Step S334 that a predetermined time has passed, theprocess flow goes to Step S336 in which the vehicle owner temporaryposition code stored in the storage part 12 is erased and the processflow goes to Step S338. On the other hand, if it is decided in Step S332that the vehicle owner temporary position code is not stored, theprocess flow goes directly to Step S338. In addition, also if it isconfirmed in Step S334 that a predetermined time has not passed, theprocess flow goes directly to Step S336. In this case, the storedvehicle owner temporary position code is maintained.

The above-described process is aimed at the case where the vehicle ownerhas moved as time passes so that a meaningless vehicle owner temporaryposition code is stored, which should be erased for avoiding aconfusion.

In Step S338, it is checked whether or not the process flow in FIG. 14has started as a result of receiving the spot code. Then, if it isfalse, the process flow goes to Step S340 in which it is checked whetheror not the process flow in FIG. 14 has started as a result of receivingthe vehicle owner GPS position code.

If it is also false, the process flow goes to Step S342 in which it ischecked whether or not the process flow in FIG. 14 has started as aresult of the manual input of the vehicle owner position.

Further, if it is also false, the process flow goes to Step S344 inwhich it is checked whether or not the process flow in FIG. 14 hasstarted after a predetermined set period has passed, the vehicle ownerposition code obtained from an information source other than Step S338,Step S340 and Step S342 is received and stored, and it is newer thaninformation obtained in one of Step S338, Step S340 and Step S342.

Then, if there is information corresponding to the condition of StepS344, the process flow goes to Step S346 in which the information isoverwritten and stored as a temporary positional information code of thevehicle owner in the storage part 12, and the process flow is finished.On the other hand, if there is no newly received memory corresponding toStep S344, process flow is finished promptly.

In addition, also if it is detected that information of the vehicleowner position is obtained in one of Step S338, Step S340 and Step S342,the process flow goes to Step S346 in which the information isoverwritten and stored as the temporary positional information code ofthe vehicle owner in the storage part 12, and the process flow isfinished.

FIG. 15 is related to Example 3 and is a flowchart illustrating afunction of the first cellular control part 6 for finding the vehicle byusing the parking code stored in FIG. 13. Note that the process flow inFIG. 15 functions both in the case where the first cellular phone 1 isone held by the vehicle owner and in the case where it is one held bythe substitute drive service agent. Note that in the latter case, theparking code is not one that is stored by itself but is one that istransmitted from the cellular phone of the vehicle owner to the cellularphone of the substitute drive service agent by the function of Step S280and Step S286 in FIG. 12.

The following description exemplifies the case where the substitutedrive service agent is a holder of the first cellular phone 1, fordescribing the function of the first cellular control part 6. This isbecause that the substitute drive service agent did not park the vehicleand doesn't know the parking lot of the vehicle. Therefore, thesubstitute drive service agent can enjoy the function of FIG. 15 more,and this function is an important factor for the substitute driveservice. However, also in the case where the vehicle owner parked thevehicle, he or she may forget the place where he or she parked in thelarge area of the parking lot. In this case, the function of FIG. 15 isuseful also for the vehicle owner.

The process flow of FIG. 15 is started by interrupt when the telephoneoperating part 8 is operated manually for finding the vehicle. It isalso started automatically by interrupt when approaching the parking lotand entering the short-range communication area. When the process flowstarts, it is checked in Step S352 whether or not the parking code isstored. In the case of the substitute drive service agent, it is checkedwhether or not the parking code is received together with the temporaryentry code and is stored in the storage part 12.

If it is stored, the process flow goes to Step S354 in which a displayindicating that it is stored is performed, and the process flow goes toStep S356. In Step S356, it is checked whether or not the garage code iscontained in the parking code. Then, if it is not detected that thegarage code is contained, the process flow goes to Step S358 in which itis checked whether or not the vehicle GPS position code is contained inthe parking code.

If it is detected in Step S358 that the vehicle GPS position code iscontained, the process flow goes to Step S360. On the other hand, if itis detected in Step S356 that the garage code is contained in theparking code, the process flow goes to Step S362 in which the garagecode is converted into the GPS position code that can be displayed on aGPS map, and the process flow goes to Step S360.

In Step S360, it is checked whether or not the GPS information of theowner of the first cellular phone 1 who is looking for the vehicle (thesubstitute drive service agent in this description) is obtained by theGPS part 16 of the first cellular phone 1. Then, if it is obtained, theprocess flow goes to Step S364, the vehicle position as a target or thegarage position and the substitute drive service agent that is a startpoint are both displayed on the GPS map. Thus, the positionalrelationship between the start point and the parking lot, a path and thelike can be decided. In this case, not only the start point and theparking lot position that is a target position are displayed, but also apath between them may be calculated and displayed.

When the map display is performed in Step S364, the process flow goes toStep S366 maintaining the display. On the other hand, the GPS positioncode of the substitute drive service agent cannot be obtained in StepS360 due to a reason that he or she is not in the communication area orother reason, the process flow goes to Step S368 in which only thevehicle position is displayed on the GPS map, so that the parking lotposition can be confirmed on the map. In this case too, the process flowgoes to Step S366 while maintaining the map display.

In Step S366, it is checked whether or not the first cellular phone 1has entered the communication area of the short-range communication partof the garage so that the information can be received by the firstcellular short-range communication part 20. Then, if it has entered thecommunication area, the process flow goes to Step S370 in which the dataof the in-garage map system is received from the garage. Then, theprocess flow goes to Step S372 in which it is checked whether or not therelative position code inside the garage is contained in the parkingcode.

If the relative position code is not detected in Step S372, the processflow goes to Step S374 in which it is checked whether or not thein-garage position code is contained in the parking code. Then, if it isnot contained, the process flow goes to Step S376, the vehicle positionis displayed on the in-garage map based on the system data and thein-garage position code received in Step S370, and the process flow isfinished after instructing to continue the display. Note that thisdisplay can be finished by operation of the telephone operating part 8after it becomes useless.

On the other hand, if the relative position code is detected in StepS372, the process flow goes to Step S380 in which the relative positioncode is converted into the in-garage position code that can be handledin the display on the map based on the system data received in StepS370. Then, the process flow goes to Step S376, in which the vehicleposition is displayed.

Note that if the memory of the parking code is not detected in StepS352, the process flow goes to Step S382 in which a display without thememory is performed and the process flow is finished.

FIG. 16 is related to Example 3 and is a flowchart illustrating afunction of the first cellular control part 6 concerning use of thevehicle owner position code. This vehicle owner position code is storedin FIG. 14 and is approved in Step S266 of FIG. 12, and afterward istransmitted to the substitute drive service agent in Step S286.Therefore, the function in the process flow of FIG. 16 is used as a rulein the case where the first cellular phone 1 is held by the substitutedrive service agent.

The process flow in FIG. 16 is started by interrupt when the substitutedrive service agent operates the telephone operating part 8 manually forconfirming the position of the vehicle owner. It is also startedautomatically by interrupt when the substitute drive service agentapproaches the vehicle 3 and enters the communication area of thevehicle short-range communication part 48.

When the process flow in FIG. 16 starts, it is checked in Step S392whether or not the vehicle owner position code is received. Then, if itis received, the process flow goes to Step S394 in which the displayindicating that it is received is performed and the process flow goes toStep S396.

In Step S396, the received vehicle owner position code is transmitted asa destination to the vehicle navigation system. This transmission isperformed by the first telephone communication part 18 or, if possible,by the first cellular short-range communication part 20. Next, in StepS398, it is checked whether or not the vehicle position code indicatingthe parking position is received. If it is received, the vehicleposition code is transmitted as a start point to the navigation systemof the vehicle in Step S400.

Next, in Step S402, a path search start signal is transmitted to thevehicle navigation system. In this way, according to the presentinvention, the navigation system can perform the path search based onstart point information and destination information that are notobtained by the vehicle itself with the GPS.

When the path search instruction is finished, the process flow goes toStep S404 in which it is checked whether or not an operation fortransmitting a signal for unlocking the engine lock based on thetemporary entry code is performed. Then, if it is detected that theengine unlock signal transmission operation is performed, the processflow goes to Step S406 in which the navigation system start signal istransmitted to the vehicle, and the process flow is finished.

On the other hand, if it is not detected in Step S404 that the engineunlock signal transmission operation is performed, the process flow isfinished promptly. In this case, the transmission of the engine unlocksignal is performed based on another operation.

In addition, if the vehicle position code is not received in Step S398,the process flow goes to Step S408 in which it is checked whether or notthe vehicle is parked in the GPS area. Then, if it is parked in the GPSarea, the vehicle position code as the start point is obtained directly.Therefore, the process flow goes to Step S402 in which the path searchstart signal is transmitted to the vehicle navigation system.

On the other hand, it is not detected in Step S408 that the vehicle isparked in the GPS area, the process flow goes to Step S404 in which itis checked whether or not the engine unlock signal transmissionoperation is performed. In this case, since the navigation system has nostart point information, it cannot start the path search promptly.However, the destination information is entered in the navigation systemin Step S396. Therefore, when the vehicle is driven out from the garage,it enters in the GPS communication area so that the vehicle positioncode can be obtained gradually and the path search becomes enabled.

Note that if the vehicle owner position code is not received in StepS392, the process flow goes to Step S410 in which the display withoutthe reception is performed, and the process flow is finished promptly.In this case, another means should be used for contact with the vehicleowner to obtain the path information for the substitute drive serviceagent to go to pickup L.

In FIG. 1, the vehicle control part 38, the vehicle operating part 40,the storage part 44, the GPS part 46, and the display part (not shown)work together as the car navigation apparatus. When such the carnavigation apparatus receives information transmitted in Step S396 andStep S400 of FIG. 16, the received information are set as the vehicledestination information and the vehicle current position information.Then, the car navigation apparatus is instructed to start the pathsearch in Step S402 and calculates the path of the vehicle to run fromthe vehicle current position information and the vehicle destinationinformation that were received and set.

According to the above-described structure, even if the vehicle isoutside the communication area of the GPS, the path to run from thecurrent position to the destination can be found. For instance, even ifthe vehicle is parked outside the GPS area when the substitute driveservice agent reached the vehicle, it is possible to understand the pathto run before moving the vehicle.

The various features disclosed above will be summarized as follows.

The first feature is related to various problems to be studied forincorporating the keyless entry function reasonably in a cellular phone.

In other words, the disclosed feature is related to providing apractical cellular phone equipped with the keyless entry function.

As the above-mentioned first feature, this specification discloses acellular phone that includes a telephone functional part supplied withelectricity from the main power source, a telephone communication partsupplied with electricity from the main power source, a short-rangecommunication part supplied with electricity from the main power source,a storage part which is supplied with electricity from the main powersource and stores data necessary for the telephone functional part, anauxiliary power source for supplying electricity to the storage part,and a keyless entry part supplied with electricity from the auxiliarypower source.

The main power source of the cellular phone is required to be chargedfrequently. However, with the above-described structure, it is possibleto avoid an inconvenience that the main power source is exhausted sothat the keyless entry cannot be performed. In addition, since powerconsumption of the keyless entry part is small, the auxiliary powersource for backup of the storage part of the cellular phone can beshared by the keyless entry part without loss of the backup function.

According to the disclosed concrete feature, the keyless entry partincludes the keyless entry code storage part for storing the keylessentry code and the keyless entry communication part for performing thekeyless entry special-purpose communication. This keyless entry part canbe supplied with electricity also from the main power source and isstructured so that the communication can be performed by the short-rangecommunication part instead of the keyless entry communication part.

More specifically, in addition to the above-described structure, if theauxiliary power source is exhausted, the short-range communication partis used instead of the keyless entry communication part for performingthe communication of the keyless entry part.

Thus, when power of the auxiliary power source is further consumed bythe keyless entry part, the keyless entry can be performed even if thebackup process cannot be performed. It is because there is smallprobability that both the auxiliary power source and the main powersource are exhausted.

According to another concrete features disclosed above, when the mainpower source is turned on, or when the main power source is charged, orthe keyless entry operation is performed, if the auxiliary power sourceis exhausted, it is alarmed so that replacement of the auxiliary powersource is urged by the control part. Thus, it is possible to avoid thesituation where the auxiliary power source is exhausted when the keylessentry operation is necessary.

According to another concrete features disclosed above, the control partis provided, which turns on the main power source in accordance with thekeyless entry operation if the main power source is turned off when thekeyless entry operation is performed. This is useful particularly in thecase where the auxiliary power source is exhausted when the keylessentry operation is performed, so that it is necessary to perform thekeyless entry operation with the main power source.

In addition, it is reasonable to have the structure in which if the mainpower source is turned on in accordance with the keyless entry operationas described above, the main power source is turned off when the keylessentry operation is finished.

As another concrete features disclosed above, the structure in which ifthe auxiliary power source is exhausted when the main power source isturned on, it is alarmed, or the structure in which if the auxiliarypower source is exhausted when the main power source is charged, it isalarmed, is useful also in the case where the keyless entry part doesnot use power from the auxiliary power source.

Next, a second feature is related to a problem to be studied variouslyfor practical use about management of the entry code.

In other words, the disclosed feature is related to providing a keylessentry apparatus with a countermeasure against leakage or forgery of thekeyless entry code in view of transmission of the keyless entry code.

As a second feature described above, this specification discloses akeyless entry apparatus including a reception part for receiving akeyless entry code from an external operation unit, an entry codemanagement part for authenticating the entry by comparing a receivedkeyless entry code with a reference code, a control part for updatingthe reference code based on a predetermined procedure, and a wirelesscommunication part for transmitting the update keyless entry codecorresponding to the updated reference code to the operation unit andfor receiving the keyless entry code update finish report from theoperation unit.

Thus, even if the keyless entry code is leaked or forged, it is possibleto invalidate the keyless entry code by prompt update of the keylessentry code, so that there is no harm in the authentication between theauthorized operation unit and the keyless entry apparatus.

Further, according to the disclosed concrete feature, the wirelesscommunication part has the structure in which the transmission of theupdate keyless entry code to the operation unit is repeated until thereception of the keyless entry code update finish report from theoperation unit is enabled, so that there is no harm in theauthentication between them. Such the wireless communication part isconcretely a short-range wireless communication part, and the entry codeupdate is performed promptly when the operation unit approaches thekeyless entry apparatus. In addition, when the operation unit isconstituted as a cellular phone, the update keyless entry code can betransmitted by the telephone line if the communication by theshort-range wireless communication part cannot be performed.

In addition, according to another concrete features disclosed above, thecontrol part updates the reference code regularly. In addition, thereference code may be updated in accordance with lapse time from apredetermined procedure, or the reference code may be updated inaccordance with the number of times of a predetermined operation.

In addition, according to still another concrete features disclosedabove, there are provided notice means for noticing update of thereference code in advance or notice means related to the fact that thereference code has been updated. Thus, it is possible to notify inadvance the situation where the entry becomes disabled after that onlyby updating the reference code, or to notify the reason why the entryhas become disabled. This is useful for preventing an accident or thelike due to abrupt change of the reference code in the case where theentry code is obtained with fixed-term.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided akeyless entry apparatus including a reception part for receiving akeyless entry code from an external operation unit, an entry codemanagement part for authenticating the entry by comparing a receivedkeyless entry code with a reference code, a communication part forperforming interactive communication of the operation unit, a controlpart for updating the reference code and the keyless entry codecorresponding to the same of the operation unit via the communicationpart based on a predetermined procedure.

Thus, even if the keyless entry code is leaked or forged, it is possibleto invalidate the keyless entry code by prompt update of the keylessentry code, so that there is no harm in the authentication between theauthorized operation unit and the keyless entry apparatus.

In addition, the above-described structure is suitable for the casewhere the operation unit is constituted as a cellular phone, and thecommunication part is constituted as the wireless communication part,for example. This wireless communication part can be one which uses acellular phone line.

In addition, as another example, the communication part may beconstituted so that interactive communication with the cellular phonecan be performed by contact with the cellular phone. Then, in this case,it is preferable to provide a power source for charging the cellularphone by contact with the cellular phone. Thus, when the cellular phoneis placed on the keyless entry apparatus for charging, the interactivecommunication between the cellular phone and the keyless entry apparatusbecome enabled so that the reference code and the keyless entry code ofthe cellular phone are correspondingly updated.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided akeyless entry apparatus including a reception part for receiving akeyless entry code from an external operation unit, an entry codemanagement part for authenticating the entry by comparing a receivedkeyless entry code with a reference code, and a control part whichprovides a first reference code and a second reference code for theauthentication by the entry code management part and updates the firstreference code and the second reference code by different procedures.

In addition, according to the disclosed concrete feature, the controlpart updates the first reference code for continuous keyless entry bythe external operation unit and updates the second reference code fortemporary keyless entry by the external operation unit.

The above-described feature is suitable, for example, for the case wherethe first reference code corresponds to an entry code of his or her ownuse, and the second reference code corresponds to an entry code which istransmitted for another person's use. It is possible to adopt thestructure in which the first reference code is updated arbitrarily byinteractive communication between his or her own operation unit and thekeyless entry apparatus corresponding to the entry code, while thesecond reference code is not updated by a predetermined condition but isupdated by a different procedure.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided akeyless entry apparatus including a reception part for receiving akeyless entry code from a first operation unit or a second operationunit, an entry code management part for authenticating the entry bycomparing a received keyless entry code with a reference code, and acontrol part for updating the reference code and the correspondingkeyless entry code of the first operation unit alone based on apredetermined procedure.

This feature is suitable, for example, for the case where the firstoperation unit is his or hers, while the second operation unit isanother person's and is transmitted from the operation unit of thereference code to the other person's operation unit. In this case, theentry code of his or her operation unit is updated corresponding to thereference code, while the entry code transmitted to the other person isnot updated. Therefore, he or she can enter continuously, while theother person can enter only temporarily for the period until thereference code is changed.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided akeyless entry apparatus including a reception part for receiving akeyless entry code from a first operation unit or a second operationunit, an entry code management part for authenticating the entry bycomparing a received keyless entry code with a reference code, and acontrol part for updating a reference code by difference procedures inaccordance with whether or not the keyless entry code is transferredfrom the first operation unit to the second operation unit.

For instance, the control part maintains the reference codecorresponding to the keyless entry code transferred to the secondoperation unit without updating the same until being a predeterminedcondition if the keyless entry code is transferred from the firstoperation unit to the second operation unit.

The above-described feature is also suitable for the case where thefirst operation unit is his or hers, while the second operation unit isanother person's and is transmitted from the operation unit of thereference code to the other person's operation unit. Then, if the entrycode is transferred to another person's operation unit, the referencecode is not updated so as to secure that the entry is possible as longas considering temporary entry by the operation unit of the otherperson. On the other hand, if such the transfer is not performed, theentry code and the reference code are changed correspondingly inassociation with his or her operation unit.

As described above, the disclosed various features are preferablyconstituted as a keyless entry apparatus for a vehicle, it is notnecessary to limit to these. For instance, it can also be used as akeyless entry apparatus for a house.

Next, a third feature is related to a problem to be studied variouslyfor practical use about transmission of the entry code.

In other words, the disclosed feature is related to providing a keylessentry management apparatus for transmitting the keyless entry code.

As the above-mentioned third feature, this specification discloses akeyless entry management apparatus including a holding part for holdinga keyless entry code, a transmission part for transmitting the keylessentry code held by the holding part to an external operation unit, and areporting part for reporting information related to the keyless entrycode transmission to the operation unit to an external object of thekeyless entry operation.

Thus, the external operation unit is associated with the external objectof the keyless entry operation, so that the keyless entry can beperformed with the operation unit that has received the keyless entrycode.

Note that the above-disclosed feature can be preferably applied to theconcrete case where the external operation unit is a cellular phone, andthe external object of the keyless entry operation is a vehicle. Thus,it is possible to manage the case of permitting keyless entry in thecase where a holder of the operation unit is not a holder of thevehicle. For instance, it is possible to request the substitute driveservice when the holder of the vehicle becomes drunk.

In addition, according to the disclosed concrete feature, there isprovided a reception part for receiving the keyless entry codetransmitted from the object of the keyless entry operation and forstoring the same in the holding part. This concrete feature has a largeadvantage in the case where the entry code is updated in the object ofthe keyless entry operation for a security reason, and the latest entrycode corresponding to the update is transmitted to the externaloperation unit.

The above-mentioned keyless entry management apparatus may concretely beconstituted as a cellular phone. In this case, a communication functionof the cellular phone can be used for transmitting the keyless entrycode to the external operation unit.

In addition, in the above-mentioned case, more specifically, the entrycode may be superimposed on a sound signal in the cellular phone so asto transmit the same. Thus, if the opponent also uses a cellular phone,the keyless entry code can be transmitted to the same opponent whilethey are talking. In addition, it is possible to prevent wrongtransmission of the keyless entry code.

Further, according to another concrete features disclosed above, thekeyless entry management apparatus itself can be constituted as anoperation unit to the object of the keyless entry operation. In thiscase, if a vehicle is the object of the operation for example, the ownerof the vehicle can perform the keyless entry and can transmit thekeyless entry code to another person so that the other person canperform the keyless entry.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided akeyless entry management apparatus including a holding part for holdinga keyless entry code, a transmission part for transmitting the keylessentry code held by the holding part to an external operation unit, and acontrol part for designating the holder of the external operation unitto which the keyless entry code should be transmitted by thetransmission part.

According to the more concrete feature, the control part is constitutedso as to designate a holder of the external operation unit based on anoperation of the operating part. In addition, it is possible toconstitute so that the control part designates automatically a holder ofthe external operation unit.

According to the above-described features, the keyless entry code canappropriately be transmitted externally in accordance with variouslevels of operators or in accordance with various cases.

In addition, according to another concrete features disclosed above,there is provided an enrolling part for enrolling a holder of theexternal operation unit. Thus, a holder of the external operation unitcan easily be designated.

In addition, according to another concrete features disclosed above,there is provided a decision part for deciding whether or not the holderof the external operation unit designated by the control part is coveredby an insurance of the vehicle in the case where the object of thekeyless entry operation is the vehicle. Thus, it is possible to handle avehicle insurance problem in accordance with the holder of thedesignated operation unit.

More concretely, there is provided a vehicle insurance management partwhich obtains automatically a vehicle insurance to cover the designatedholder of the external operation unit when the decision part decidedthat the designated holder of the external operation unit is not coveredby the vehicle insurance. Thus, even the user who does not know how tohandle vehicle insurance can transmit the keyless entry code to theholder of the external operation unit without a problem. Morespecifically, the vehicle insurance to be obtained automatically ispreferably a temporary one with inexpensive insurance fee.

On the other hand, it is possible to provide an operating part forselecting yes or no to obtain the vehicle insurance covering thedesignated holder of the external operation unit when the decision partdecides that the designated holder of the external operation unit is notcovered by the vehicle insurance, so that the operator can select yes orno to obtain the vehicle insurance. Note that the insurance in this caseis not a temporary one but a normal one, and the transmission of thekeyless entry code to the holder of the external operation unit is anopportunity of reconsidering the contract condition of the insurance.

In addition, according to another concrete features disclosed above, thecontrol part is constituted so as to perform automatically thedesignation of the holder of the external operation unit, the handlingof the vehicle insurance related to the designated holder of theexternal operation unit, and the transmission of the keyless entry codeby the transmission part. Thus, even if the vehicle holder becomesdrunk, he or she can request the substitute drive service without beingbothered by the procedure.

As described above, the above-disclosed various features can preferablybe used in the case where an owner of a vehicle requests the substitutedrive service or the case where an owner of a vehicle lends the car toanother person. However, without limiting to the cases, they can be usedfor management of rental cars, for example. In addition, the object ofthe keyless entry operation is not limited to a vehicle but can be adoor to a house.

Next, a fourth feature is related to a problem to be studied variouslyfor practical use about communication of the vehicle drive informationby a communication apparatus such as the cellular phone or the like.

In other words, the disclosed feature is related to providing acommunication apparatus that can communicate practical vehicle driveinformation.

As the above-mentioned fourth feature, this specification provides acommunication apparatus including an input part for entering parkingpositional information of a vehicle, a parking positional informationholding part for holding the parking positional information entered bythe input part, a transmission part for transmitting the parkingpositional information of the holding part to the external receptionapparatus. Thus, it is possible to inform an external person of theparking position so as to request to drive the vehicle or to lend thevehicle.

According to the disclosed concrete feature, the parking positionalinformation is transmitted together with the keyless entry code by thetransmission part. Thus, the person who can enter the vehicle can beinformed of the parking position.

The above-mentioned parking positional information is a code specifyinga parking facility, for example. In addition, in the environment inwhich the parking positional information is transmitted from the parkingfacility, the input part receives it so that the parking positionalinformation can be entered. Then, the parking positional information canbe obtained automatically. In addition, if the parking positioninformation contains, for example, information which specifies a parkingposition in the parking facility transmitted from the parking facility,it is possible to specify not only the parking lot but also the positionat which the vehicle is actually parked in a wide parking lot or thelike. The parking position information may be GPS information indicatingthe parking position of the vehicle.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided acommunication apparatus including a reception part for receiving parkingpositional information of a vehicle transmitted from an externaltransmission apparatus, a parking positional information holding partfor holding the parking positional information received by the receptionpart, and a display part for displaying the parking positionalinformation held by the holding part. This is a structure on thereception side of the parking position. Receiving the parking positioninformation in this way, it is possible to reach the vehicle parked atunknown place, to respond the request of driving the vehicle, or toborrow the vehicle. In addition, in the same manner as described above,the keyless entry code is received at the same time, so as to drive thevehicle after reaching the vehicle.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided acommunication apparatus including an input part for entering destinationinformation of a vehicle, a destination information holding part forholding the entered destination information, and a transmission part fortransmitting the destination information held by the holding part to theexternal reception apparatus. Thus, it is possible to inform an externalperson of the destination information of the vehicle so as to request todrive the vehicle. Note that it is possible to adopt a concretestructure in which the parking position information and the keylessentry code are transmitted together with the destination information ofthe vehicle. Thus, when being drunk, he or she can request a substitutedrive service agent to drive the vehicle from the parking lot and pickup him or her to drove home.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided acommunication apparatus including a reception part for receivingdestination information of a vehicle transmitted from an externaltransmission apparatus, a destination information holding part forholding the received destination information, and a display part fordisplaying destination information held by the destination informationholding part. This is a structure on the reception side of thedestination information. With this structure, it is possible to run thesubstitute drive service, for example.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided acommunication apparatus including a reception part for receiving vehiclecurrent position information and vehicle destination information from anexternal transmission apparatus, and a car navigation apparatus forcalculating a path of a vehicle to run from the received vehicle currentposition information and the vehicle destination information. Accordingto this structure, even if the vehicle is outside the GPS communicationarea, it is possible to obtain the path to run from the current positionto the destination. For instance, when the substitute drive serviceagent reaches the vehicle, even if the vehicle is parked outside the GPSarea, the agent can obtain the path to run before moving the vehicle.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided acommunication apparatus including a communication part for performingcommunication with the outside, a parking positional information holdingpart for holding parking positional information, a map display system,and a conversion part for converting the parking positional informationheld by the parking positional information holding part into informationthat can be display by the map display system. According to thisstructure, also in the case where the parking position can be easilyspecified as a parking lot under management by an integral system or afamous spot, and a simple code is assigned to the parking positionalinformation, the information can be incorporated into a map displaysystem handling positional information by latitude and longitude, forexample.

In addition, according to another disclosed feature, there is provided acommunication apparatus including a parking positional informationholding part for holding parking positional information, a receptionpart for receiving process system for processing parking positionalinformation, and a display part for displaying parking positionalinformation processed by the process system received by the receptionpart. Thus, when looking for a vehicle parked in a wide parking lot, theprocess system provided locally to the parking lot is received so thatthe parking position of the vehicle in the parking lot can be specifiedin the case where the parking positional information is held that isvalid only in the parking lot. This is useful in the case where thesubstitute drive service is requested or the vehicle is borrowed, andthe vehicle in the parking lot is being looked for, or in the case wherea person who parked his or her vehicle forgot the position of the parkedvehicle.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is useful for establishing a keyless entry systemof a vehicle or a house.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicle system including a vehicle and acellular phone in cooperation with the vehicle, comprising: a vehicle tobe parked by a driver carrying a cellular phone; a control part arrangedto have the cellular phone store information relating to a position ofparking the vehicle in automatic response to a stop of the vehicle; andan information holding part in the cellular phone arranged to hold theinformation in response to the control part to keep the informationwithin the cellular phone even if the driver carrying the cellular phoneleaves the vehicle wherein the cellular phone includes a telephonefunctional part for making a communication with another cellular phonecarried by another person who has not known the position of parking thevehicle, and wherein the telephone function part is arranged to transmitthe information to the other cellular phone for the other personcarrying the other cellular phone to know the position of parking thevehicle and easily access the vehicle, and wherein the cellular phoneincludes an entry qualification holding part arranged to hold entryqualification information to enter the vehicle, and wherein thetelephone function part is arranged to transmit the entry qualificationinformation to the other cellular phone for another person carrying theother cellular phone to enter and drive the vehicle.
 2. The vehiclesystem according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has an engine, andwherein the control part is arranged to have the cellular phone storethe information in automatic response to a stop of the engine of thevehicle.
 3. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein theinformation is derived from GPS system, and wherein the control part isarranged to have the cellular phone store the latest information beforethe stop of the vehicle.
 4. The vehicle system according to claim 1,wherein the information is indicative of a parking area where thevehicle is stopped.
 5. The vehicle system according to claim 1, whereinthe information is indicative of a specific parking position at whichthe vehicle is stopped.
 6. The vehicle system according to claim 1,wherein the cellular phone includes a display part arranged to indicatethe position of parking the vehicle in accordance with the informationheld by the information holding part for the driver to easily come backto the vehicle.
 7. The vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein theinformation relating to the position of parking the vehicle cannot bereceived by the other cellular phone unless the entry qualificationinformation is received by the other cellular phone.
 8. In a vehiclesystem including a vehicle and a cellular phone in cooperation with thevehicle, the vehicle comprising: an operating part relating to stop ofthe vehicle; a control part arranged to have the cellular phone storeinformation relating to a position of parking the vehicle in automaticresponse to the operating part to stop the vehicle; and an entryqualification system for a driver carrying the cellular phone to enterand drive the vehicle, the entry qualification system is arranged toqualify entry qualification information from another cellular phone towhich the entry qualification information has been transmitted, by thecellular phone carried by the driver, along with the informationrelating to the position of parking the vehicle the other cellular phonebeing carried by another person who has not known the position ofparking the vehicle unless the information relating to the position ofparking the vehicle has been transmitted to the other cellular phone. 9.The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the operating part is anengine, and wherein the control part is arranged to have the cellularphone store the information in automatic response to a stop of theengine of the vehicle.
 10. The vehicle according to claim 8 furthercomprising GPS system, wherein the information is an output of the GPSsystem.
 11. The vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the control partis arranged to have the cellular phone store the output of the GPSsystem when the vehicle is stopped.
 12. The vehicle according to claim10, wherein the control part is arranged to have the cellular phonestore the latest output of the GPS system before the stop of thevehicle.
 13. In a vehicle system including a vehicle and a cellularphone in cooperation with the vehicle, the cellular phone comprising: acontrol part arranged to have the cellular phone store informationrelating to a position of parking the vehicle in automatic response to asignal from the vehicle which is stopped; and an information holdingpart in the cellular phone arranged to hold the information in responseto the control part to keep the information within the cellular phoneeven if the driver carrying the cellular phone leaves the vehicle; and atelephone functional part for making a communication with anothercellular phone carried by another person who has not known the positionof parking the vehicle, wherein the telephone function part is arrangedto transmit the information to the other cellular phone for the otherperson carrying the other cellular phone to know the position of parkingthe vehicle and easily access the vehicle, and wherein the cellularphone includes an entry qualification holding part arranged to holdentry qualification information to enter the vehicle, and wherein thetelephone function part is arranged to transmit the entry qualificationinformation to the other cellular phone for another person carrying theother cellular phone to enter and drive the vehicle.
 14. The cellularphone according to claim 13, wherein the vehicle has an engine, andwherein the signal from the vehicle is indicative of a stop of theengine of the vehicle.
 15. The cellular phone according to claim 13,wherein the information is indicative of a parking area where thevehicle is stopped.
 16. The cellular phone according to claim 13,wherein the information is indicative of a specific parking position atwhich the vehicle is stopped.
 17. The cellular phone according to claim13 further comprising a display part arranged to indicate the positionof parking the vehicle in accordance with the information held by theinformation holding part for the driver to easily come back to thevehicle.
 18. The cellular phone according to claim 13, wherein theinformation relating to the position of parking the vehicle cannot bereceived by the other cellular phone unless the entry qualificationinformation is received by the other cellular phone.